Tezukabuchou no Imouto
by Ysah-chan
Summary: After living as an only son for fourteen years, the Tezuka family decides to adopt an orphaned girl. She adds different flavors to Tezuka's and Seigaku's life, especially a certain tennis prince's. But will everything always be happy? R&R please.
1. Chapter 1

Ok minna, this is the new story I was talking about in my profile. I'm sorry because of the totally unexpected take down of TTFH. I will try my best to revise it well and have the plot on the right track again soon. Anyway, please enjoy this new story of mine.

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Chapter 1- Okaeri

"…we're adopting a younger sister for you,"

That was what his mother told him a few weeks back, when Tezuka Kunimitsu, the Seishuun Gakuen tennis team captain arrived home one fine day. He had been practicing for the district tournaments with his fellow tennis players and had arrived home with a bag full of sweaty clothes and towels. The whole day was spent for practice even though it was supposed to be a weekend. His mother almost scolded him, if not for the fact that she was busy fixing the spare room next to his. He could clearly recall what the middle-aged woman told him that day.

"Your father already met the girl. She was orphaned after her family had an accident. She doesn't have any relatives so she was taken to the orphanage," said Ayana, his mother. "But isn't it a little late to adopt someone for my sibling?" he asked. "Well, she isn't that young anymore, dear. She's already in first year of Junior high, so I'm presuming that she's twelve," said Ayana. "Doesn't that make things even more difficult?" Tezuka asked. "Well, she's already orphaned and she's aware of that. According to your father, they already talked and she gladly agreed. Your father even swore that the child looked relieved to finally find a new family to come home to," Ayana explained as she followed her son to his room.

"I have her picture right here, Kuni-kun. She doesn't look too different from you too," said Ayana as she took out the photograph from her apron pocket. "See, she looks like you,"

He took the picture she was handing over to him and took a look. It was a photo taken in a park. The girl was wearing a dark colored sailor uniform and her hair was adorned with ribbons. She was smiling brightly at him, which was how he felt immediately after looking at the picture. An unexplainable feeling he never felt before.

"Kuniharu said that she's very intelligent in school and that she was somehow similar to you. She loves reading and sports. She plays tennis and soccer and she's even a great musician like your cousin Eriol-kun. She's everything you've ever wanted for a sister, Kunimitsu," said Ayana.

What his mother told him made him remember a lot of things when he was younger; his dream of having a younger sibling with him, especially a younger sister. He thought it was finally going to come true when he was three years old. His mother conceived but the baby didn't make it to the world. Ayana had a miscarriage and couldn't have any more children after that, if there was a chance, her life would be in danger. And now, after seeing just a photo, that dream of his finally returned to his heart again, he felt happy. At least now, he knows that one of his dream can come true.

"When is she coming home mother?"

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"When is she coming home mother?"

Ayana never thought that she'd get this excited in all of her life. If this feeling has ever been experienced by her before, it must have been when her son was born fourteen years ago. And now, just like when she was about to give birth, she was expecting her new daughter to step out of the train along with his husband. Kuniharu said that they will be arriving in Tokyo during this time of the day by train. Ayana alerted her driver about the time right away, making sure that everything is ready for her new daughter.

"Ayana!" waved a happy looking Kuniharu as they passed the gates of the train station. He was shielding the person behind him and Ayana couldn't make out whether the girl was happy about her arrival or not.

A few moments later, the two individuals finally arrived in front of Ayana. The woman looked the girl in her eyes and smiled happily. Her eyes shined from unshed tears of happiness. The girl looked back at her, her eyes as hazel as Kunimitsu's eyes and her pig-tailed hair similar to the young man's soft brown locks. How they looked so similar was a mystery to everyone in the Tezuka family, but whatever it may be, everyone was happy to have another member to come home to them now.

"Okaeri nasai, watashi no musume,"

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"This is your new home, Yumi-chan. Everyone is so excited to finally meet you in person," said Ayana as they entered the foyer of the house. "We've been showing everyone here your picture. They said you and your new older brother looked very much alike," said Kuniharu. "Really? I didn't get to see any of your family pictures yet so I'm as excited to meet everyone else as well. I hope they get to like me," said Yumi. "I'm sure they will," said Ayana. "Honey, why don't you take her to her new room upstairs? Otou-sama and Kunimitsu-kun will be home soon. In the meantime, Yumi-chan can rest or tour around the house if she wants," said Kuniharu. "All right, why don't you go and get changed as well. I'll just take her to her room then I'll bring out some tea while we wait for them," said Ayana.

The two ladies headed for the second floor right away, leaving Kuniharu with the spacious living room and soft couches. He sat down and looked up the ceiling at the lit chandelier. It looked even more sparkly than it did before, he thought. He couldn't explain why he thought so, but right at that time, everything looked perfect for him and for his family.

"I have a daughter, my very own daughter. Welcome home, Yumi," he whispered to himself as he drowned in the happiness that surrounded him at that moment.

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"Do you like your new room, Yumi-chan?" the dark haired man asked. "Yes, I like it very much. Thanks for going through all the trouble," said Yumi, the girl the man was talking to. "I actually didn't do anything, well if you call paying something then I guess I did something," said the man. "I hope you didn't buy anything too expensive just for me," said Yumi. "Oh, let him spend for you. He's been so excited to have a daughter ever since we got married," said the man's wife. "Ayana-san is so nice, thank you very much," said Yumi. "Ah, Yumi-chan, you shouldn't call your mom Ayana-san from now on. Just call us with okaa-san, otou-san, onii-san and ojii-san," said the man. "Kuniharu, she's still adjusting," said Ayana. "No, it's fine. Actually I'm glad you're allowing me to call you that," said Yumi. "Ah, I'm so happy to have a little girl in the house. My Kunimitsu-kun will finally be a big brother," said Kuniharu. "Speaking of Kunimitsu, where is that boy?" Ayana asked.

As if on cue, the door of the house opened. They were away from it but the sound of the closing door echoed until the living room where they were staying. Yumi was sitting comfortably on the couch, while the two adults sat near her. The ambiance was quite nice and Yumi didn't feel any nervousness at all while they were chatting. It was as if this amicable conversation was done by them on a daily basis, as if they have been doing this all their lives. There was a special connection with the whole family, and Yumi wanted to see that with the other members of the Tezuka family.

"I'll call him from his room a bit later. I'm sure he's as excited to meet you as we were earlier," said Ayana. "He's been waiting for a younger sibling ever since he was a kid. I'm glad we could make that dream of his come true somehow," said Kuniharu. "I'll try my best to become the best younger sister he could have. There were only two of us in my old family and we're twins. I'm the older twin so I haven't actually experienced how it is to be the younger sibling. I hope won't do a bad job at it," said Yumi. "Are you still sad when you remember what happened to your family?" Ayana asked. "No, even after the incident, I never felt any kind of sadness for what happened. But I'm not saying that I never felt lonely. I still am, but I know that somewhere in heaven, my parents and Yuki are definitely happy. Especially now, I'm sure they're happy that I found a new family," Yumi explained.

Kuniharu sighed and looked at Yumi. Just like how he felt the first time he talked to the young girl, he felt very appeased with everything. It was as if she knew just how much a person should feel happy at the moment they would talk.

"They're definitely happy. And I'm sure your Obaa-sama, my okaa-sama, who's not with us now, is with them now. They're all happy with our new family for sure," said Kuniharu. "Well, I'll call Kunimitsu now," said Ayana as she stood up and left the room.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you and Kunimitsu-kun will be close in no time at all. He's going to be a great brother for you and you'll be a great sister for him," said Kuniharu.

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I hope it satisfies you at some point. Please feel free to read and review the story. Comments will be replied on as promptly as I can. Negative comments/opinions regarding the story will also be taken into account, however if the comment/opinion is just to insult the authoress, I shall react to it in the way it deserves.


	2. Chapter 2

Four reviews~!! I got four reviews right away after posting the first chapter of the story. Thank you very much to all of you~! Your reviews make me happy and inspire me to right more.

My wholehearted thanks to the following people:

**Kuma the wolf alchemist**

**Different Child**

**Midnight Strawberry**

**AliciaHale**

Now then, to the next chapter of Tezuka-Buchou no Imouto~! Again, please read and review. Reviews are greatly appreciated, recorded and placed in an itty-bitty notebook for reference. By the way girls and guys, suggestions are also welcomed. Please feel free to send me requests or suggestions.

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Chapter 2- My Beloved Sibling

The moment Tezuka set his things down, Ayana knocked on his door right away to announce that she was coming in. She has been waiting for him the whole day so that he could meet his new sister, Yumi. She couldn't tell who was more excited with the meeting; if it was her or her son. If someone else would judge it, she definitely looked a lot more excited than anyone else in the family. Who wouldn't get excited anyway? She just got a new daughter after a very long time.

"Kunimitsu-kun," she called as she entered the room. "Okaa-san, tadaima, I thought that you and otou-san were still out. No one responded when I came in," said Tezuka as he placed his notebooks down on his study desk. "Never mind that, dear, get changed right away and go directly to the living room," said Ayana. "Do we have a guest today?" Tezuka asked. "Silly boy, did you forget? Today's the day that your new sister arrives. She's with your father and they're waiting for you," Ayana smiled. "Oh, that's right. I was busy the whole day because of tennis practice that it totally slipped my mind," said Tezuka. "Oh, it doesn't matter, dear. I'll wait for you outside so we can go there together," said Ayana as she stepped out of the room.

Tezuka quickly changed and then left his room. And just like how she said it, Ayana was waiting just outside, checking on some of the paintings that was decorating the wall near his son's and new daughter's room. One was a huge painting of the house they had in Kyoto, the one that they visit from time to time whenever the whole Tezuka clan was present. And at the middle of Tezuka's room and Yumi's new room is a family painting taken a few years back, when Tezuka just entered Junior high school. Originally, it was a photo taken by a photographer friend of Kuniharu's. Tezuka's younger cousin saw the picture and painted it.

"This painting really is beautiful isn't it?" Ayana asked. "Hai, Tooru-kun definitely did a good job with it," said Tezuka. "I think, we'll have to ask Tooru-kun to make a new one for us soon," said Ayana as she stared up at the painting.

Of course, Tezuka understood what his mother was talking about. With a new sister in the family, there would definitely be a lot of changes that will happen. Tezuka's fully aware of all of that and he knows that the whole family is aware of that as well. But adjusting to a new sister is not the same as adjusting to a new home or a new school. It's not like meeting a new friend to go home with after classes in school. This new person in his life would be living in the same house as him and his family. How would he adjust to this new person now? He doesn't really understand how but just like how life and tennis are for him, he would face them without regret.

"Finally!" his father's voice rang when he and his mother arrived in the living room. "Yumi-chan and I have been waiting for you, Kunimitsu," said Kuniharu. "Sorry for being late," said Tezuka. "Don't pressure him too much dear. He just came from school and I'm sure they had an intense tennis practice again," said Ayana. "Oh, well then it couldn't be helped. Anyway, Kunimitsu-kun, we'd like you to meet your new sister, Yumi," said Kuniharu. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kunimitsu-san," said Yumi as she bowed in front of Tezuka.

When Tezuka turned to see the girl, he was surprised. Was this girl really adopted by his parents? Had he been tricked by his family that he was an only son? These were the first questions that entered his mind immediately after seeing Yumi. Those brown eyes and brunette hair, they were definitely similar to his. If not for the fact that the girl was adopted, he would think that she was his long lost sister or something close to the thought. But of course that was impossible, and he knew very well why.

"Yumi-chan, didn't I tell you? You're going to call Kunimitsu as 'Onii-chan' from now on," said Kuniharu. "He's right, Yumi. You will call me 'Okaa-san,' you will call Kuniharu as 'Otou-san' and you will call Kunimitsu here as your 'Onii-chan'. This makes us more like a family now, right?" said Ayana.

"I guess you're right about that. Will it be okay if I call you 'Onii-chan,' Kunimitsu-san?" Yumi asked.

Who could resist a girl like her? The moment he laid eyes on her, Tezuka knew right away who that girl is to him. She is someone special to him as much as she is special to his parents. That's because Yumi is his dream come true, because Yumi is his beloved younger sister.

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"Of course you can. I'll always be your big brother," said Tezuka. "Thank you very much, onii-chan," said Yumi as she smiled at him.

"I'm so happy," said Ayana, her eyes a bit shiny from unshed tears. "Now, let's not get too sappy now. I didn't get all happy just to get all teary-eyed afterwards," Kuniharu joked. "Well, that is true," said Ayana as she wiped away her tears. "Why don't we have a little chat, as a family, with some drinks and some pastries perhaps?" said Kuniharu. "I'll go and prepare some," said Ayana. "Do you need any help, okaa-san?" Yumi asked. "Oh, I'll be fine dear. You stay here," said Ayana.

Yumi, Tezuka and Kuniharu sat back down on the soft couches and decided to chat some more while waiting for Ayana to come back with the refreshments. There were a lot of things that Yumi wanted to know about her new family. She wanted to know a lot of things about her new father, her new mother, her new brother and her new grandfather that she hasn't met yet. She couldn't explain whether it was excitement or nervousness but just looking at her new family makes her all tingly inside. It's the same feeling she always feels when she's opening her Christmas presents or when receiving praise from her favorite teacher in school.

Before Yumi was adopted by the Tezuka family formally, she already met Kuniharu. He was a frequent visitor in the orphanage. Every week he would drop by to give donations for the children's ward, the section of the orphanage where sick children stay. During those times, Kuniharu would see her near the playground sitting on one of the few benches surrounding the monkey bars and the slides. She would always have a book on hand or a sketchbook and a pencil while she lets the time pass. It took a while before she and Kuniharu became close. He started by talking to her whenever he visited, during particular days, he would bring books for her to read or some new sketching materials whenever he noticed how worn out or how small her pencils were. Eventually she learned to open up to him and talk to him about various things that she knew and that she was interested in.

Looking back to where she started when she met Kuniharu, she never actually expected to be adopted right away. After suffering from a tragedy she never thought would happen to her and her family, Yumi never really thought about it ahead. She never realized what possibilities there are to be adopted when she stays in an orphanage. Other than that, life just seemed to stop after the accident.

"Yumi, have you seen the rest of the house yet?" Kuniharu asked. "No, I didn't really get to look that much around the house yet. I was too busy looking around my room, I guess," said Yumi shyly. "Well then, why don't you and Kunimitsu take a tour around the house? I'll go to your mother and tell her that we'll have the refreshments later in the garden," Kuniharu suggested. "Is that really all right?" Yumi asked. "It's fine. There are a lot of things that you'll probably like here," said Tezuka. "Oh, be sure to show her the library, Kunimitsu. She's as much a bookworm as you are so I'm sure she'd love that," said Kuniharu.

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The moment Kuniharu mentioned about the library, Yumi couldn't wait to see how much books she would be able to read as long as she wanted. Yumi tried her utmost best to contain her excitement, but it seemed like her new big brother sensed how she felt. But before they went to the library, they toured around the rest of the house first. There were definitely a lot of things that they enjoyed checking out. Yumi loved the fact that they had a room that it solely used for music. There were a lot of instruments, many of which were favorites of Yumi's. Tezuka mentioned that aside from Martial arts, their grandfather was most interested in music, all kinds of it in fact.

"Do you like music, onii-chan?" Yumi asked. "Yes, I do. Playing the piano is one of my favorite pass times," said Tezuka. "That's a great pass time," said Yumi. "Do you play any instrument?" Tezuka asked. "There are a lot of instruments that I like but I usually play the piano, violin and guitar," said Yumi. "So, are you more into contemporary music?" he asked. "Not really, I love classical music too. I play more classical music than contemporary, actually," Yumi explained.

It took them a few more rooms until they finally reached the place Yumi wanted to visit the most. Yumi knew right away that the room was packed by wonderful books of all genres and volumes. She was sure the shelves around her were stacked with books from all over the world. She could swear that she saw tomes and tomes of books in one of the largest shelves.

"Are these in German?" Yumi asked as she scanned one of the royal blue tomes from the shelf. "Yes, father bought it from Germany two years ago. It's a good book," said Tezuka. "I'm sure it is. But first, I have to learn how to speak German first," said Yumi. "That's fine, I can teach you how," said Tezuka. "Thank you. Onii-chan, I'm glad I have a brother like you," said Yumi.

That was really surprising for Tezuka. But in truth, he was very happy. At least his new sister verbally affirmed that she was happy to have a brother like him. That meant he just has to be the best brother that he can be to the best sister that she has.

"I'm glad you're my sister too, Yumi. Let's enjoy our family together, from now on," said Tezuka, looking ever so gently at her.

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End of chapter 2. I'm happy from the previous reviews, which explains why I wrote a long chapter this time around. Well, actually this is still a bit short for me. Expect longer chapters in the future. Ok gals and guys, now it's your turn to read and review. Again, positive comments/reviews are gladly accepted. Whilst, negative comments/reviews that are only meant for hurting other people's feelings will be posted and given a reply depending on the level of rage presented. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

Minna, Thank you for the very warm reception you gave me and my new story, Tezuka-buchou no Imouto, or as I've named it in English, The Captain's Sister. This is not the direct English translation of the Japanese title; rather, it is my preferred English title for this story.

Again, thank you for the warm welcome. This story has been in my head for a really long time now, at least six months to a year I think. I've only succeeded in writing a few days ago. I'm overwhelmed by your reception. That's why, I THANK YOU WITH ALL MY HEART~!

To the following people who reviewed chapter 2:

Nejisakura

Konohagrl1432

Freezechain

Different Child

Sakuraxgaara2233

Chika_25

Thank you very much for reviewing.

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Chapter 3- The Tezuka siblings

The new family was in the garden having their afternoon refreshments. Yumi and Tezuka had just finished touring the entire house and they were now enjoying pastries and juice. Ayana personally prepared these refreshments for them; something that she rarely did since they have their own family chef.

"I wonder where Ojii-sama is right now," Tezuka questioned aloud.

"He's probably with some of his friends. You know how he is, he loves having long conversations with his old friends," said Ayana.

"Or maybe he's in his dojo, fast asleep after training the new recruits," said Kuniharu.

The conversation started to trail into several different topics from their grandfather, that Yumi had yet to meet, to various other things like school and hobbies. When they started talking about experiences that they had in school, Kuniharu remembered that his daughter needed to enroll into a particular school soon. It had been a while since his daughter entered a normal school. He was wondering if the little girl was ready to face her new life now.

"Which school would you like to enter, Yumi?" Kuniharu asked.

"That's right, you're also in Junior High like Kunimitsu," said Ayana.

"I'm not familiar with the schools in this district yet, so I'm still not sure," said Yumi.

"Well, Seishuun has a lot of schools. There's that Seisou Music Academy, that art school near my office and I guess there's a lot more. Let's not forget about Seishuun Gakuen, of course," said Kuniharu.

"That's the school Kunimitsu is attending," said Ayana.

"Is it a nice school?" Yumi asked.

"Seishuun Gakuen is one of the top tennis schools here. It's a private middle school. Academic wise the school is good as well," said Tezuka.

"Well, if its academics we're asking, you're one of the best there, ne Kunimitsu-kun?" Ayana asked.

"I'm not the only one. There are a lot of students who are great in academics," said Tezuka.

Yumi thought about it a bit more. Attending Seishuun Gakuen sounded like a more practical choice rather than her old school. Her old school was in the same region but from her new home, the school was just too far. She would need to take a train ride and a bus just to get there. And with the unpredictable traffic in Tokyo, being late for classes and going home late would be something that she couldn't avoid. For a student like her, it wasn't a very practical thing to do.

"So Yumi-chan, which school would you like to attend?" Kuniharu asked expectantly.

"Is it all right to attend Seishuun Gakuen?" Yumi asked.

"That's a great idea, Yumi!" Ayana exclaimed.

"That way you can come and leave school with your brother. It's a wonderful idea," said Kuniharu, looking rather relieved to hear the girl's response.

"That actually reassures me more," said Ayana.

"I'll bring her to school on Monday, okaa-san. Please have her requirements for enrollment ready by then," said Tezuka.

"Thank you, onii-chan. I'll try not to cause you any trouble," said Yumi.

"Why don't you introduce her to Fuji-kun and all your other friends from the tennis club? She's probably in Echizen-kun's year, they might become good buddies," said Ayana.

"Ah, I will," said Tezuka.

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_**Monday…**_

_Ding…dong…ding…dong…_

"Welcome to Seishuun Gakuen, Tezuka Yumi-chan," said the kind looking principal after looking over the entrance examination results.

It was an early Monday morning when Yumi and her new brother headed for Seishuun Gakuen. It was much nearer than she had expected it to be. They only took a bus from the bus stop near their house to get to the school. Almost everyone who saw them, when they got off, was looking so curiously at them. Most would look at Tezuka and then giggle; but the moment they see Yumi, they would start murmuring. They were probably wondering who she was.

"Arigatou, sensei," said Yumi. "Please take her to Room 105. She'll be staying in class I-A where Echizen-kun is staying. I'll be there in a minute, I'll just attend to something important," said the principal as he addressed Tezuka.

"Hai, sensei," said Tezuka.

The two walked together until they reached the first floor. The room for class 1-A is found at the very end of the hall in the first floor. It was pretty easy to spot since almost all the doors had a name plate, except for the teacher's office. Students were prowling about in the first floor halls, since their homeroom teachers were still not there.

In Seishuun Gakuen, the year level of a student is determined by two ways. First, it is determined by the floor level where their room is found. First years are always placed in the first floor, second years on the second floor, and the third years on the third floor. The fourth floor is used for club rooms for non-sport clubs. The second way is to look at the button on the male students' uniform collar and the number of lines on the sailor collar of the female students' uniform.

"This is your room, Yumi," said Tezuka as they stepped in front of the room's door.

"Hai, onii-chan," said Yumi as she followed closely.

"My classroom is at the third floor. It's room number 309, for class 3-A. If you need anything, you can just come to me upstairs" said Tezuka.

Tezuka was about to leave and go to class, when he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned slowly to look at Yumi, who looked very much like she was going to start crying anytime soon. By the looks of it she didn't want Tezuka to go anywhere yet, probably because she's not familiar with any of the people inside the class yet.

"All right, I'll wait until your homeroom teacher gets here. I'll introduce a kouhai of mine to you as well," said Tezuka as he was wiping the single tear that left Yumi's eye.

"Gomen, onii-chan. I'm just nervous," said Yumi.

"It's fine. I understand how you feel. I'll call Echizen so that you won't feel too scared," said Tezuka.

Tezuka walked near the student entrance and then opened the door. He was welcomed by an auburn haired boy with a weird looking mono-brow. The boy looked shock to see the third year in his classroom. He looked like he was nearly going to wet himself right on the spot.

"Horio, is Echizen around?" Tezuka asked the boy.

"Tezuka-buchou! Hai, he's in his seat!" said the boy Tezuka addressed as Horio.

"Thank you," said Tezuka.

Tezuka looked around the room and checked if the boy he mentioned was really present. After spotting a guy with green-black hair who was leaning on his table, Tezuka stepped into the room. He signaled for his sister to follow suit. They approached said boy, not minding the fact that almost all of the students in the classroom were staring at them, wondering why the senior and an unknown girl entered the room so suddenly.

"Echizen," Tezuka called.

The boy stirred. He was sleeping, Tezuka thought. It was an odd time for a student to be sleeping. School didn't start too early, why would someone sleep during this time of the day when most people are supposed to be active and high with energy? Setting that thought aside, Tezuka tried to coax the guy awake again.

"Echizen, may I talk to you? I'd like you to help me with something," he stated, the other guy seemingly aware of the other person talking to him now.

"Buchou, sorry, I was napping. What is it that you need?" said the guy named Echizen.

"My sister is going to start to attend Seigaku today and she is in the same year and section as yours. I was wondering if you could possibly assist her, especially for her first day today," Tezuka explained.

Echizen stood up to face the two individuals that were looking at him. Did he hear it right? Did his captain really say that his sister was coming to Seigaku? He looked up at his upperclassman, and then at the girl standing right behind him. She certainly looked a lot like Tezuka-buchou, he wondered.

"It's all right. I'll take care of her. If she's your sister, I'm betting she isn't as noisy as other girls, right?" said Echizen.

"Ah," said Tezuka.

"Thank you very much," said Yumi.

"This is Tezuka Yumi, my younger sister. This is the kouhai I was talking about, Yumi," Tezuka introduced the two to each other.

"Nice meeting you," said Yumi.

"Likewise," Echizen said bluntly.

After a while, the principal and the homeroom teacher arrived. The principal was already informing the homeroom teacher about Yumi's arrival. After spotting Yumi and Tezuka, the principal smiled and then signaled for the Yumi to step in front. It was time for her to be introduced to the class. That also meant that it was time for her big brother to leave her alone and go to his own class.

"I'll come and pick you up for lunch later," said Tezuka.

"Okay," said Yumi.

"I'll leave her to you Echizen. I'll see you both later," said Tezuka.

"Hn," Echizen muttered.

"Onii-chan, please don't forget to come early later," said Yumi, approaching Tezuka right before he leaves.

"Ah," said Tezuka, then he kissed her forehead as if to say that everything was going to be all right.

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After Tezuka left, the principal left the class to the homeroom teacher, Terada-sensei. He looked like a kind person to Yumi. He looked a lot like someone that everyone would simply assume as a teacher because of his looks; a clean cut hairstyle and a well-ironed uniform. He definitely looked like a teacher in Yumi's eyes.

"Good morning class, today we're going to be joined by a new student. This is Tezuka Yumi-chan, she will be a member off our class from now on. Please introduce yourself, Yumi-chan," said Terada-sensei.

"Good morning, my name is Tezuka Yumi, twelve years old. I came from Lilian Girls' Academy," said Yumi.

"All right, are there any questions for Yumi-chan?" Terada-sensei asked.

A few hands shot up to ask some questions. Some were trivial stuff like 'when's your birthday?' or 'would you send our confession letters to your brother if we asked you?' Luckily, the teacher was quick enough to dissuade people into asking such things from her. It seemed like majority of the girls in her class (and a couple of _*cough*guys*cough*_) found her brother very attractive. One of the playboy types in the class asked her something unusual for her though. The question was, 'Do you have a boyfriend? If you don't can I apply to be yours?' She answered truthfully of course. She already had a talk about this with her dad and Tezuka, where they made her promise not to entertain such questions because Kuniharu didn't want his daughter to get snatched away that easily.

"Settle down, people. Now, Yumi-chan, you can sit at that vacant seat in front of Echizen-kun," said Terada-sensei. "Ah, thank you, sensei," said Yumi, then she walked towards the seat she was directed to.

* * *

"All right class, you can have your lunch now. Be back early afterwards, all right? Miss Yamaguchi has been complaining about how late third fourth period starts because most of you are always late," said Terada-sensei.

"Hai, sensei," said the whole class.

The third period class just ended and everyone else in class left for either the cafeteria or other places for them to go to. They were going to start eating lunch now of course, but Yumi was still inside the classroom waiting for Tezuka. He was still in his classroom, trying to finish activities.

"Do you have your lunch pack with you?" Echizen asked.

Yumi thought that he had already left the room. He was so quiet that she didn't even notice that the guy was still sitting behind her. Well, he just woke up actually. First, second and third periods were sleeping time for the tennis prodigy. Yumi thought that the guy her brother talked to for her was going to leave her behind just after the kind tennis buchou talked to him in person.

"Uh, I thought you already left," said Yumi.

"No, I was just sleeping," said Echizen.

"Oh, uhm, I didn't bring any. Onii-chan and I thought that I'd only be taking the exam today so I didn't bring any food with me," Yumi explained.

"Ah, well, maybe buchou will just buy your food later in the cafeteria," said Echizen.

"By the way, Echizen-kun, thank you for agreeing to accompany me even though this is the first time we've met," said Yumi.

"It's not a problem. It's rare for buchou to ask something like that, so I said yes," Echizen explained.

"I hope onii-chan doesn't take too long," said Yumi.

"Yumi," said a voice.

Yumi and Echizen turned to see the tennis club captain. He had a brown paper bag with food and drinks. He obviously decided on buying their lunch first before coming to fetch his sister.

"Sorry, class ended early so I decided to buy the food first. I wasn't sure what you wanted so I bought these instead," Tezuka explained as he showed the paper bag's contents.

"It's fine. I don't mind," said Yumi.

"I'll go ahead then, buchou," said Echizen suddenly as he stood up. "I'm going to go and nap at the rooftop. See you later."

* * *

The two headed out of the room and looked for a good place to eat their lunch. The best place they found was the bench near the water taps near the tennis courts. The two sat comfortably while eating the bentou box that Tezuka bought from the cafeteria. Ayana's cooking was a lot more delicious than the store bought bentous but it was at least something that they could eat.

"How was your class?" Tezuka asked, the first to break their silence too.

"Pretty good I think. I'm still adjusting to their lessons here so I guess it'll take a while for me to fully adapt their curriculum," said Yumi.

"It'll be all right. The teachers are they accommodating?" said Tezuka.

"They're a lot more accommodating than I expected," said Yumi.

"Don't worry, you'll be adjusting well to this school. There'll be a lot of people you'd meet later so don't worry. You'll have new friends later," said Tezuka.

"Are they the once Okaa-san was telling you to introduce to me?" Yumi asked.

"Yeah, they're from the tennis club," said Tezuka.

"By the way, Onii-chan, thank you for talking to Echizen-kun to accompany me. Although he only sleeps inside the classroom, he's quite helpful to me too," said Yumi.

"You're my sister. I always want what's best for you, remember that," said Tezuka.

_'You're my sister…That's nice,'_ Tezuka thought.

Who wouldn't think that way anyway, right? Tezuka dreamed of having a sibling of his own and after what happened to his mother he never expected that dream to come true anymore. But surely, fate was giving him another chance. Now all that's left is for the tennis club to find out about it.

* * *

Hope you like that. A big thanks to Different Child who did edited my work patiently. Again, please R&R. ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everybody~! It's me again! I'm really happy because of the reviews I received. It makes me want to write even more.

To everyone, Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu~!

Special thanks to the following people who sent their reviews for Chapter 3:

ilovethisfanfic-thank you very much, I couldn't reply to your review so I'm hoping that you get to read this message.

mia- again thank you very much.

AliciaHale- Glad you liked it. I will update this fic as often as I can.

Kuma the Wolf Alchemist- Yes, Tezuka shows a bit of an OOC side here. There are a couple of characters here who will have OOC so please watch out for that.

kim-chan-sempai- More RyoXYumi moments? hmmm....*Coming soon* ^_^

sakuraxgaara2233- will write more as soon as i can

Different Child- Thanks for beta-ing my work~! Yes, I think I've overlooked a typo too. lolz. It can't be helped.

Midnight Strawberry- Whenever I think of Yumi, I always associate her with a warmth that I feel whenever I'm happy. I guess that's why her character in the story is somehow similar.

This chapter is dedicated especially for Different Child who beta-d for me. Thanks for being very patient with my work. English is only my second language so I hope I'm doing a good job at it.

Now then, ON WITH THE STORY~!!!!!!!

* * *

Chapter 4- First Day in School/ The Regulars part 1

After finishing lunch Yumi headed back to her classroom for the next period. Lunch period was almost over by then and some of her new classmates had just returned from the cafeteria. They were chatting amiably when the young Tezuka came in.

"Tezuka-san, did you eat lunch yet?" one of the boys asked.

It was the same boy who she met before. He was the one Tezuka called Horio. He looked okay for a classmate, the only thing Yumi would consider weird about him was his mono-brow. She didn't see many of those back in her old school. It was an all girls school after all.

"Yes, I have. Oniichan(1) bought some food from the cafeteria," Yumi explained.

"Ah, that's right! You're Tezuka-buchou's younger sister aren't you?" said one of the boys sitting near Horio. He had black hair and he looked friendlier than Horio. He gave off that aura right away when Yumi saw him.

"My name is Mizuno Katsuo. Dozo yoroshikuu(2)," said the boy.

A much smaller one stood by him as they were talking to Yumi. The smaller boy whose name Kato Kachiro, as Yumi heard earlier from the teacher. His hairstyle reminded Yumi of an upside-down bowl, but his face was very child-like. Of the three, Echizen seemed to interact more with the two black-haired boys. Horio was more of the all-talk-no-action kind of guy but that didn't stop him from talking.

"Pleased to meet you," said Yumi.

"We're freshmen members of the tennis club that your brother heads; so we're quite familiar with him," said Kachiro.

"Although, this is really the first time that I've heard about Tezuka-buchou having a younger sister," said Katsuo.

"Baka! (3) Buchou(4) is a very private person! He doesn't talk as much to others unless he's really close to them," said Horio.

Thinking about it now, what Horio said is true in a way. Tezuka responded a lot to any conversations that he had with Yumi or with other members of his family. But, on the other hand, he didn't talk as much with other people. The principal was one example: a couple of nods and 'hai's were given but that was nothing compared to how they had talked during lunch time.

"I guess that's just how my brother is. Either way, my being unknown to his friends and schoolmates is a long story so let's just leave it at that for the meantime," said Yumi.

"Ah," said Kachiro.

"Eto, Horio-kun, did you see where Ryoma-kun went?" Katsuo asked, looking around curiously for the said person.

"Ryoma-kun? Who's that?" Yumi asked.

"Echizen Ryoma-kun. Seigaku's ace freshman. He's the guy that was sitting behind you earlier during class. We call him Ryoma-kun," Kachiro explained.

"Ah, well, I heard him saying that he was going to the rooftop to take a nap," said Yumi.

"Ryoma-kun really loves sleeping, doesn't he?" said Katsuo.

* * *

Tezuka just got back from having lunch with his sister and was currently headed for the classroom when he was ambushed by his best friend and vice captain just before he could enter the room. Said boy was with another third year, a certain redhead who was bouncing right in front of him.

"What is it Oishi?" Tezuka asked his best friend.

"Ano, I-I was just bullied by my classmates to do this. T-Tezuka, did you, by any chance, have lunch with a girl just now?" Oishi asked.

"I did," Tezuka answered carelessly.

It was too late for him to realize what he had just said, because after hearing this, the red-headed fellow that Oishi was with started jumping around the hall calling someone by the name of _'Fujiko.' _It was wrong of him to let his guard down just because it was his best friend. He should've anticipated the fact that Oishi was accompanied by his red-headed doubles partner, Kikumaru, who's also known to blurt out things that are not to be blurted out.

"Kikumaru!" Tezuka said sternly.

"Hai!" the bouncing redhead stopped and hid himself behind Oishi.

"Saa, Tezuka-kun has been hiding something from us, ne?" asked a gentle voice.

Tezuka turned to see the rest of the third year members of the tennis team, in particular, a well-known tensai (5) who loved to tease him so much. He could swear that the tensai and Kikumaru were in cahoots about this.

"So, who was it that you had lunch with, nyah Tezuka?" Kikumaru asked, still hiding his safely behind Oishi.

"Stop it, Eiji, it's probably something private," Oishi tried to coax the other to stop.

"Eiji won't stop 'til he's satisfied," said the soft-voiced tensai.

"Stop it Fuji," said Tezuka.

"To stop it, there's a ninety five percent chance that Tezuka's explanation would satisfy us all," a tall, rectangular-eye-glassed figure said from behind suddenly, causing Kikumaru to jump from his place.

"NYAH~!! Inui! Stop doing that! You're going to give me a heart attack!" Kikumaru yelled.

"Sorry about that," said the guy while looking through his notebook.

"Tezuka should tell us about it then," said the soft-voiced tensai.

_What are these people thinking anyway? Is having lunch with a girl such a big deal nowadays? Or is it because Fuji just wants to make fun of me? _Tezuka wondered.

Nothing was wrong with having lunch with his own sister after all. It wasn't as if there was a law saying that:

_No Japanese citizen should be seen during the time: __so-and-so__ eating together else they will be beheaded._

"I had lunch with my younger sister," said Tezuka simply.

It disappointed them all, that's for sure. Inui looked like all the color on his face was drained out. He sat on one corner muttering stuff like, _"I failed miserably" _and _"my data has failed me."_ The others looked a lot better than Inui. They were all shocked of course; but other than Inui, the remaining regulards looked fine with the explanation. But they certainly looked like they had just woken up from a very strange dream indeed.

"Could you repeat that, Tezuka?" asked Oishi.

"I said, I had lunch with my younger sister," said Tezuka.

"EH?? How can that be, nya? Tezuka doesn't have an imouto.(6)" said Kikumaru.

"So who is it, Tezuka?" Fuji asked.

"I told you, it's my sister. I'll introduce you after classes. If you'll excuse me," said Tezuka, before he entered the classroom.

The ambush was unexpected, but what could Tezuka do? In only a couple of hours, surely, everyone in the school would be asking if he had lunch with a girl or if he had a girlfriend. He was sure that many would misunderstand who Yumi was to him. And tomorrow, he was certain that the people he knows from other schools would be aware of the same rumor as well.

* * *

"So where is the girl, Tezuka?" Oishi asked as they were waiting for the rest of the club members, including the other regulars, to arrive.

"Echizen's going to bring her along. They're in the same class," said Tezuka while checking the strings of his racket.

There were few additional people this time around. There are two second years and another third year who had already arrived. Tezuka noticed that the two second years, who consider themselves as rivals, started to argue again. From the moment they arrived in the club room 'til the moment they were waiting for Echizen and Yumi, the two quarreled over a number of things. If it weren't for Oishi the two would've started a fist fight right then and there.

"Those two will never stop," said a mild-mannered guy.

"Taka-san is always calm. Unlike Kaidoh and Momo-chan," said Kikumaru.

"Mou, Eiji-sempai, you can't say that na, you can't yo," said the one Kikumaru called Momo.

"Saa, you should behave then, Momo. That goes for you too, Kaidoh," said Fuji, referring to the other second year.

"Hai, senpai(7)," said the scary-looking second year.

It seemed like Echizen and Yumi were taking their time after class before heading to the tennis courts. Unlike the others, Tezuka didn't actually mind as much. His sister was adjusting and if he didn't let her spend time with her new friends then she wouldn't learn to socialize with her classmates. Besides that, he didn't want Yumi to think that he was worrying too much about her.

"Tezuka, Echizen's coming. Is that your sister with him?" Inui asked curiously, pen and notebook both in his hand.

Tezuka looked up from what he was doing and saw his sister with Echizen. They were talking about something, probably something about an assignment or lesson in class. It was somehow unusual to see Echizen talk to someone so freely. Sure, he was asked to accompany Yumi, but it didn't really mean that they'd be talking as much as they are now.

"Oniichan," said Yumi, her face brightened up instantly as she saw him standing in front of the entrance to the tennis courts.

She walked ahead of Echizen so that she could greet her brother. Her facial expression implied that she enjoyed class but she was relieved to see her brother now. Tezuka assumed that it was because this was only her first day attending school. Surely she'd have mixed emotions about everything that was happening with her new life.

"Konnichiwa(8), oniichan," Yumi smiled expectantly.

"Konnichiwa," said Tezuka, patting her head lightly. She looked happier afterwards, though it reminded Tezuka of a certain pet that belonged to Echizen.

"So, you are Tezuka's imouto," said Inui, his rectangular eyeglasses gleaming because of his new data.

"Everyone, this is Tezuka Yumi. My younger sister," Tezuka introduced her to the regulars.

Yumi looked a little startled though. She didn't really notice that there were other people with her brother. She was far too preoccupied with seeing him that she hadn't noticed how many people there were around them right at that moment. It felt a little awkward.

"Yumi desu*. Yoroshikuu onegaishimasu(10)," said Yumi bowing to show her respect.

* * *

To help in understanding some of the Japanese or non-English words that I've used, I decided to put a glossary part or a definition-of-words part here at the end of the fic. I hope it helps. If I've made a mistake in any of the definitions, feel free to notify me and I will correct it at once.

(1) Oniichan- Big brother

(2) Dozo yoroshikuu- informal saying of nice to meet you

(3) baka- idiot

(4) Buchou- captain

(5) tensai- genius

(6) imouto- younger sister

(7) senpai- an upperclassman or person with a much higher position.

(8) Konnichiwa- good afternoon/hello in some cases

(9) Hai- yes/that's right/that's correct

(10) yoroshikuu onegaishimasu- much formal form of nice to meet you. It literally means, _please take care of me._

*-will explain desu once I've confirmed what it denotes

Again people, I will look forward to your reviews. Please R&R, Onegaishimasu~!


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, sorry for the really long wait. I'm experiencing a lot of problems at the moment,. I will try my best to post the 6th chappie as soon as I can.

Now then..

Thank you to those who read and reviewed the last chapter. All your efforts are appreciated. I do hope that this story pleases you in the best way possible.

* * *

Chapter 5- The Regulars Part 2

"So Kawaii! (1)" Kikumaru said all of a sudden. He started bouncing on the spot he was in right after he looked at Yumi.

"Yumi, these are the regulars of the Seigaku tennis club," said Tezuka.

"Saa, it's nice to finally meet you, Tezuka-chan," said Fuji, sending unexpected shivers on Tezuka's back. He's definitely baiting him.

"Please call me Yumi instead, it gets a bit confusing since I have a big brother in the same school," said Yumi.

"Saa, Yumi-chan then. I'm Fuji Syuusuke, I'm in the same year as your brother," said Fuji.

"The rest of us are also third years, except for these two and Echizen. The one wearing a bandana is Kaidoh Kaouru and the one with the spiked up hairstyle is Momoshiro Takeshi. And I'm Inui Sadaharu," said Inui.

"Nice meeting you, Yumi-chan," said Momo.

Yumi met the rest of the tennis club afterwards. There were a lot of them there, Yumi found it difficult to memorize each of their names right away. She guessed that she'd just have to know them more as time progresses. Rushing things wouldn't do any good for a newcomer anyway.

"We'll be having practice now. Do you want to call the driver so you can go home?" Tezuka asked.

"No, it's fine. I want to watch your practice. Can I stay instead?" said Yumi.

A nod from Tezuka confirmed that she could stay. She looked for a vacant bench to sit isn't really something new to her but she doesn't play tennis much because of all the things they do in her old school. But occasionally she watches games, whether on the television or in the recreation centers where her friends usually go to. Her job in her old school didn't give her that much 's a volunteer worker for the student council, taking away her chances to join other clubs.

* * *

_After practice…_

"That's all for today. Please be sure to be here tomorrow for morning training," said Tezuka.

"Hai, buchou," said everybody.

Yumi got up after seeing that they finished practice already. It was so much fun to watch them play and it looked like they were enjoying what they were doing just now. Yumi realized that there were a lot of things she missed after the incident. There were a lot of things that she wanted to do back then, and right now, she wouldn't let anything to hinder those dreams anymore. Unless it's something her new family is against with, she'd try her best to experience the things she wanted before.

"So, what do you think Yumi-chan?" Oishi asked.

"Yeah, yeah, Yumi-chan, what do you think about the tennis club nyah? Do we look cool?" Kikumaru asked curiously.

"You guys were great! I've never seen anyone play that good in my life," said Yumi.

"That's not even their real strength," said Inui.

"You'll be seeing more of that if you tag along with your brother. He's an excellent tennis player," said Fuji.

"Do you play tennis, Yumi-chan?" Momo asked.

"I play, but I'm not any good. I'm not that athletic," said Yumi.

"Tezuka, are you two going home right away?" Kawamura asked.

Tezuka was fixing some of his things when Kawamura asked the question. His parents actually told him that they were going out for a bit so the two could spend some time out before going home. He was planning on going to town to buy Yumi's school supplies. They also needed to get her uniform done by a seamstress so Yumi could have her own already.

"We might visit the bookstore and a seamstress," said Tezuka.

"I'll come along. I need to buy something from the bookstore for Oneesan(2)," said Fuji.

"See you tomorrow then, Yumi-chan, Tezuka," said Oishi.l

"Ja(3), sempai-tachi(4). See you tomorrow, Echizen-kun. Please check my English assignment tomorrow," said Yumi.

"Hn. Ja na(5)," said Echizen.

* * *

Heading to the bookstores downtown was something Yumi was new with since she didn't live in the same neighborhood before, so it wasn't odd that she looked curious about where they were going. The three rode a bus to get there; according to Fuji, this was the fastest way since the bus usually takes the easier route. It seemed like Fuji frequently goes downtown, he looked like an expert for Yumi.

"Are you buying things for Yumi-chan?" Fuji asked Tezuka.

"Hn, she needs them for tomorrow. She'll need the uniform soon too. The principal only gave her a week and a half to get one," Tezuka explained.

"It's must be tough on you, Yumi-chan. Transferring to a new school, when classes have started for over two months already," said Fuji.

"It is, but I don't mind at all. I was a bit scared, but my big brother is here so I feel less afraid now," said Yumi.

"He must be a good big brother then. He's a good captain to us, so I'm betting he's a better brother," Fuji wondered aloud.

The rest of the time before they got to the bookstore was spent chatting. It was such a nice ambience that Tezuka couldn't even decipher whether his old friend is trying to dig out some details for a certain data-man or if he was purely playing the good friend role. But Yumi looked happy while chatting with Fuji, which was enough to convince him that nothing else was up with Fuji. But Tezuka being his wise self was careful enough to think ahead, he would not let his guard down. Whatever happens today he will not let his guard down while he and Yumi are with Fuji.

_Yudan Sezu Ni Ikkou(6)_

"I'll be over there for a bit. I'll catch up on you two later when I'm done buying the stuff on my list," said Fuji.

"Hn, we'll be in the school supplies section in case you need anything," said Tezuka.

The siblings started to look for the things that Yumi needed. There were books, notebooks, pens, erasers, and other miscellaneous things that Yumi could think of. But Tezuka had a list in his hand so Yumi decided to just let her big brother. The things Yumi needed for school was pretty common; a pad of paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and markers. Then there were the school books and other materials that she'd usually use inside the classroom.

"Do I need to buy an apron for Home Economics?" Yumi asked.

"You'll need one and a hairnet or bandana too. I think Okaa-san(7) has one at home so we don't need to buy that anymore," said Tezuka.

"Are these notebooks enough for all the subjects?" Yumi inquired.

"Hn, it's just right," said Tezuka.

The two continued to look around for more of the things that Yumi might need for school. A particular item that Tezuka wanted to get for her was a Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese dictionary. It will surely come in handy when it comes to some of the subjects that they have in school. English is a required subject for everyone in school, having a dictionary like this would make it easier for Yumi to understand unfamiliar English words.

"Are you two done?" Fuji asked.

"Onii-san's (8) still waiting for a new copy of that dictionary he chose for me," said Yumi.

"Is it tough having him as a brother? He's a model student so, it must mean that you feel pressured somehow," said Fuji.

"It's inevitable but I have to learn how to handle it well. Besides, having him as my big brother might have some perks too right?" said Yumi.

"It definitely has its advantages and I can tell that from experience. He's just a friend of mine but I get showered by his benefits all the time," said Fuji.

"But I bet he gets a lot of attention from girls. A lot of them were looking at us when we arrived this morning, and I'm guessing they misunderstood who I am since I'm a transferee," said Yumi.

"Don't worry, your brother can just glare at them and they're sure to keep quiet right away," said Fuji.

The two continued to talk a bit more while they were waiting. When Tezuka finally got back, they paid for their purchases and decided to part ways there. Fuji's sister would be picking him up in a nearby store. The other two proceeded to the uniform shop to get Yumi's uniform done. The seamstress seemed nice and agreed to have Yumi's uniforms finished by the end of the week. She didn't have other pressing commissions at the moment anyway, she mentioned.

"Thank you very much," said Yumi.

"Oh, don't worry about it dear, your brother brings his uniforms and his friends' uniforms here as well. He's a regular customer so it's always a pleasure to have him here," said the seamstress.

"Thank you again. We'll come and pick it up by the end of the week," said Tezuka.

* * *

"How was your first day in school?" Ayana asked.

"I got nervous at first but it was okay. I've made lots of friends now," said Yumi.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart. And, did you make friends with that nice kid, Echizen-kun? He's an excellent tennis player," said Kuniharu.

"I made friends with him too. He promised to help me with my English homework," said Yumi.

"That's nice of him," said Ayana.

"Is grandfather in the dojo (9)?" Tezuka asked.

"He's in the garden, son, he bought a new bonsai for his collection and I think he's looking for the best spot to put it," said Kuniharu.

"Thank you. I'll just be talking to him. I'll come back for dinner," said Tezuka.

After the boy left, Yumi went back to her room to get changed and to get started on her English homework. They were required to pass a short essay on a topic that the teacher gave. English wasn't really a difficult subject for her, but just like any typical Japanese girl, Yumi's not that confident with her English. She was lucky enough that her old school hired an American teacher for the subject, that's why she's not having that much of a hard time anymore.

Half an hour later, Yumi placed her paper in her file case. She only has the essay for her homework, making the rest of the night free for her. She was about to get something from her cabinet when the phone in her room rang. She picked it up and waited for the person in the next line to speak.

"Honey, there's a call for you at line two" said Ayana as she talked from the other line.

"Ah, thank you very much, okaa-san," said Yumi.

She looked down at the phone receiver and saw a blinking button. It was labeled as 'line 2'. Assuming that it was what her mother was telling her, she pressed the line and then listened again. A familiar bubbly voice welcomed her.

"Yumi!" said the voice.

"Oh my! Is that you, Sei? As in Sato Sei, from Lilian?" said Yumi.

"Yeah, I though you wouldn't remember me. Calling your house was like calling a top class corporation. I was put on hold twice," said Sei.

"Sorry about that. How have you been?" said Yumi.

"I'm all right. I can't say the same for Hikari, but she's always been dramatic anyway," said Sei.

"Stop being mean to her! Anyway, is there anything you need in particular?" said Yumi.

"Not really, I was just checking on how you're doing so far. How's Seishuun Gakuen?" asked Sei.

"Pretty good, I think. My brother attends the same school so it doesn't really bother me much that it's a new school," said Yumi.

"That's good. I'll visit you some time soon. I'll bring Hikari and Shimako along," said Sei.

"I'll look forward to that. Just call me before you visit, so I can tell my mom about it," said Yumi.

The talked for a bit more after that before Sei finally said that she had a pop quiz she needed to study for. Yumi happily said goodbye and promised to give them a tour of her new home once she and her friends came to visit.

"Ojou-sama(9), dinner is ready," a maid came knocking on her door.

"Arigatou. I'll be down right away," said Yumi

* * *

Here are the definitions for the unfamiliar words or Japanese words used for this chapter.

Sorry for not individually thanking all those who reviewed..I'll follow up on that as soon as I get more time..I might be able to write more around September or October. But I will still update from time to time, just no as frequent as before...

btw this is the beta-d version..i apologize if it doesn't qualify to your standards but this is pure Filipino goodness that we are proud to share to everyone.

Please read and review..Thank you~!

(1) kawaii-cute  
(2) Onee-san - older sister  
(3) Ja- see you tomorrow/bye temporarily  
(4) sempai-tachi- two or more upperclassmen  
(5) Ja na- alternative for Ja  
(6) Yudan Sezu Ni Ikkou- Don't let your guard down. Tezuka's favorite phrase/line.  
(7) okaa-san - mother  
(8) onii-san - big brother  
(9) ojou-sama - young lady


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to all my dear readers. There's a lot in store for you for this chapter and I hope you guys like it. It's currently 12 am here in the Philippines and yet here I am, posting my 6th chapter for Tezuka-buchou no Imouto. Anyway, I'm very happy with the response that I got from you guys/gals.

A big thanks to the people who read and reviewed chapters 4 and 5! I've neglected this part of my update in my last chapter so I will be posting my thanks in this one instead. Hugs and Thanks to the following people:

Sweet-lia

Sakuraxgaara2233

Different child

Lovelyanimeangel

Ocean949

I

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I- I understand OC which is for Original Character, but could you please specify what you mean with XOC? There are a lot of meanings that I can associate with it. Sorry if this makes me sound like a noob, but it would better if I could understand what the reader means before I respond, right?

* * *

The next chapter will be more on the Tezuka family. It will also be showcasing some of our beloved POT cast members. And I know that a lot of people have been waiting for this. Please look forward to it.

*There's a poll that i made for the next chapter. I do wish you could participate so I could have an idea as to which instrument should be used.

Next, this is another part that I've neglected in the five earlier chapters, so I will do it now because I do not want to get arrested for stealing.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis and any of its characters. Prince of Tennis or Tenisu no Oujisama or TeniPuri is the property of Takeshi Konomi-sama. Other characters mentioned in the story are fictional and are properties of the fiction writer, Ysah-chan.

Now then, ON WITH THE STORY~!!!!!!!!! ^^

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Chapter 6

It's been a month since Yumi moved in with the Tezuka family and it has also been a month since she started attending Seishuun Gakuen. The month that passed held a lot of things for her. She met new friends in her new class and new friends from her brother's club. The lessons in Seishuun were quite similar to her old school, with exception of the fact that there was more language and other electives offered for them. And although she hasn't chosen a club to join yet, there were a lot of clubs that wanted her to join them.

And one of the most persuasive club presidents that she met was Usui Miko, a senior who is in Kawamura Takashi's class. She's a nice person, in Yumi's understanding, and she's really good with the craft that she's in. Yumi has seen two of the Theater club's production and she has expressed interest in acting. But somehow, Usui still hasn't persuaded her enough to be a new thespian in her club.

"Yumi-chan, why don't you join the Theater club? You seem to be overflowing with talent, and we need people like you in our club. So, what do you say?" said Usui.

"I'll think about it, Usui-san. Your offer is really very tempting, plus, the club has some of the activities that I would like to excel in. But I'll have to think more about it first," Yumi explained.

"I understand. I hope I can hear from you soon, Yumi-chan. For the meantime, you can try joining into some of our activities, if you want. It'll help you decide on it more," Usui insisted.

"You really are very persuasive, ne, sempai(1)?" said Yumi.

* * *

And like what Fuji said a month ago, there were a lot of advantages she could avail of because Tezuka was her older brother.

During one of the school assemblies held because of the junior high division principal, the whole student body was called to the auditorium. A lot of people wanted to get a chair, but since some of the chairs were being used in the Primary Division's Parents' meeting the ratio of people and chairs wasn't balanced. A lot of the students decided to sit on the floor or simply stand up while the principal talked about the upcoming school festival. Yumi was one of the people who were standing during that time; she and her friends were a bit late since they came from the cafeteria. They were standing near the seniors' level and one of the seniors noticed her there. One of the guys stood up and gave her his chair, saying that it wouldn't be good if she was standing too long. After a while, they heard the principal saying that he was giving a price to the guy for being a gentleman to _Tezuka-kun's _younger sister.

"Young man, please visit my office later this afternoon so I can give you your price," said the principal.

"Ah, arigatou gozaimasu(2), sensei," said the startled youth.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, for letting me have your sit, onii-san(3)," said Yumi before accepting the seat from her upperclassman.

"Ah, it's no big deal. I didn't expect to be honored in such a way, but I guess I should be thankful to you as well," said the senior.

"Then, we're even then, sempai," said Yumi.

"Sou desu ne(4)," said the young man as he smiled.

It seemed like the young man was very happy to receive acknowledgement from the principal that he sent Yumi some cookies the following day. He took it to her classroom personally and said that the cookies were for her. It was a thank you gift from him and his mother, who was so happy when she heard about what happened.

But aside from the nice perks she was getting, there were also disadvantages in her position, as Tezuka's younger sister. This time, it was involving the majority of the female student population. They would talk to her nicely all the time, but that meant that they were after something. If it wasn't because they wanted to get information or photos of her brother, it was because they wanted to ask her to give a love letter. And being a good sister to her brother, she would always decline in the same fashion that she was taught by Tezuka. To some it would look like something natural for her to do, but it was actually something she rehearsed based on what her brother has been telling her to do.

"I'm sorry, but my brother strictly forbids me to talk about his personal information to others. He wants to keep private things about him as ease. I hope you understand," said Yumi.

It was only the start of a good Monday morning but Yumi has already turned down two love letters for her brother and a short interview for the school paper. Her friends were quite amazed at how she handled all of them. They would always comment that she handled these people in the same way that Tezuka would talk to them.

"It must be tough being buchou's (5) younger sister," Echizen commented.

"Not really, the confessions and interviews are usually easier to handle. It's harder to handle turning down gifts. Onii-chan doesn't like accepting any," Yumi explained.

"Why doesn't he accept any anyway? If it were me, I'd gladly accept all those gifts," said Horio.

"He doesn't want to be bothered by any and he doesn't know how he'd respond to the gifts," said Yumi.

"It's tough enough that Yumi-chan turns down these requests, she also has her own admirers to turn down," said Kachiro.

"One glare from her brother will be enough to handle all of those unwanted admirers," Echizen muttered.

"I won't be entertaining them at all anyway. My dad's starting to warn my brother every day, telling him that he should watch over his _baby girl_ while we're in school," said Yumi.

"You're definitely a daddy's girl," said Horio.

"Your admirers already freak out when buchou glares at them, what more if it was from your dad?" said Katsuo.

"I haven't really seen him angry, but I bet it's not anywhere close to pretty and nice," said Yumi.

"That's tough. Anyway, what club are you going to join, Yumi-chan? It's already been a month and you still haven't joined a club yet," said Kachiro.

"I haven't really decided on it yet. I mean, I've tried out each interesting club I've seen in school but they haven't really shown me any good reasons why I should choose their club," said Yumi.

"Maybe it's because you keep on looking for a reason to join a club. Why don't you just join for the heck of it?" said Echizen.

"That's misleading, if you think about it. If I join just for the heck of it, then I'll just waste my time and my parents' money," said Yumi.

"Good point, Yumi-chan," said Kachiro.

"Always a good debater huh?" said Horio.

"Ryoma-kun never wins whenever it's you talking to him," said Katsuo.

"It's refreshing actually, you never see THE great Echizen Ryoma-sama fazed by anyone else other than buchou," said Horio.

"That's definitely a mean thing to say," said Kachiro.

"Quit it, you guys. Homeroom's starting. I hope you guys revised last night," said Yumi.

"Why? What's up?" Horio asked.

"Don't you remember anything Satoshi?" Echizen asked.

"We have a pop quiz today," said Yumi.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Horio panicked.

* * *

Tennis practice was always a sight to see for Yumi. She would sit on the same bench while watching her brother and his teammates practice their skills. Often, she would clap for someone if he scores or if Kikumaru-sempai did another of his unique acrobatic flips. While having practice matches, her sempai-tachi (6) who are not playing would sit beside her and watch the game with her. Most of the time, her brother would be there watching with her. She would always get explanations as to what was happening with the game. Tennis is not new to her but ever since Tezuka started explaining it to her; she understood the game even more.

"Did you like the practice today Yumi-chan?" Fuji asked.

"I did, Taka-san was amazing. You're really stronger than you look sempai," said Yumi.

"Thanks Yumi-chan," said Kawamura with a kind smile.

"Taka-san's a great player, ne? He's always fired up and excited about games, you can't just help but get influenced," said Momoshiro.

"Kikumaru-sempai was bouncing all the time while Taka-san and Fuji-sempai were playing," Echizen pointed out.

"It was so cool! I couldn't help it! Nya!" said Kikumaru.

Everyone laughed at how Kikumaru always looked excited. Tezuka pointed out that most of the time, Kikumaru would be so hyperactive that he would be so fast that no one would even notice if he moved from one place to another. It was amazing, Yumi thought. She never imagined someone could be as fast as Kikumaru. But then again, most of the tennis regulars are fast. Kikumaru's speed was different from them of course, but they were all in unusually high levels in tennis that Yumi always thought of them as great tennis players.

"We have to get going soon, Yumi," said Tezuka.

"Oh, that's right. We're attending a family gathering tonight," said Yumi.

"Well, see you around then," said Oishi.

"I'll call you when I get home, Ryoma-kun. I'll recheck it as soon as I get home," said Yumi.

"OK, Ja na(7)," said Echizen.

Today was a busy day for the Tezuka family so the two were fetched by the family driver. They needed to come home as early as they can so that they could still have time to do their schoolwork. As Yumi mentioned earlier, there's a family gathering that they're supposed to attend to tonight. It was a birthday celebration, according to their grandfather, and everyone was invited to come. Yumi was feeling nervous right away, but she couldn't just ignore an occasion like this one. It involves her new family, it's only right that she attends it like the rest of them.

"Are you and Echizen doing something together for class?" Tezuka asked while they were in the car.

"Hai (8), we're reporting for History class the day after tomorrow. Ryoma-kun is busy with tennis practice every after class so we decided to make it during lunch," said Yumi.

"That's a wise decision, just be sure to eat your lunch first before you do anything else. Okaa-san (9) would be terribly upset if you fall ill just because of that," said Tezuka.

"Hai, we try to finish our food first before we work on our report," Yumi explained.

"Good to hear," said Tezuka.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Tezuka was checking on some of the photos Fuji gave him for the club's monthly portfolio. Being the captain meant it was his responsibility to screen everything that Oishi puts in their portfolio. It wasn't much work, but oddly, most of the photos contained events when the regulars are being given penal-TEA (A/N: a.k.a. INUI JUICE…fufufufufu…). Tezuka reminded himself to always check on Fuji's photographs before turning them in for the monthly portfolio. He wondered if the photos were meant to disgrace them by showing that they always get punished or disgust them because of all the uniquely colored liquid oozing out of the regulars' mouths.

(A/N: I know it's disgusting. I've seen one in a live cosplay situation so I'm telling you..IT IS DISGUSTING…unless you're Fuji Syuusuke of course)

"Tadaima (10)," the two announced their arrival as they were in the foyer.

"Okaeri nasai (11), Kuni-kun, Yumi-chan," Ayana welcomed them.

"What time are we expected to leave, okaa-san?" Tezuka asked.

"We'll be leaving in an hour. You know what to wear for this occasion, ne Kunimitsu?" said Ayana.

"Ah, I asked one of the maids to have my suit prepared earlier," said Tezuka.

"All right, as for Yumi-chan, your attire for tonight has already been prepared. Both of you do what you have to do for school, afterwards, please start preparing for the party," said Ayana.

"Hai, okaa-san," said Yumi.

"Yumi-chan, come to the master's bedroom later so I can help you get ready, all right?" Ayana smiled.

"Yes, I will, okaa-san. I'll see you in a bit," said Yumi.

* * *

After reading through her joint report with Echizen, Yumi wrote down what they needed to edit to make the report even more interesting. Their lesson in History involved Japanese festivals and their teacher decided to have them make reports regarding the said topic. Each pair would give a brief but comprehensive discussion about their given festival and they would be graded according to their presentation, materials used, class participation and team work. The festival they got for their report is the Tanabata festival, one of the most famous festivals celebrated in Japan. To make their presentation better, they were planning on doing a lot of things for the class.

"Moshi moshi(12), Tezuka Yumi desu(13). Is Echizen Ryoma-kun at home?" said Yumi as she started talking to the other person in the line.

"Ah, Ryoma-san is in his room at the moment. Please wait awhile, I'll just call him," said the kind lady from the other end.

Yumi waited until she heard two pairs of footsteps. It sounded like they were coming from an upper floor staircase. A little while more and she heard someone picking up the phone from somewhere, the person spoke and she finally knew who it was.

"Moshi moshi," said Echizen.

"Ryoma-kun, it's Yumi," said Yumi.

"Good, you called. So how's the written report so far?" Echizen asked.

"I did a little more revising and some additions to it. All that's left is the materials for the presentation. Should we go on with the first plan?" Yumi explained.

"I guess so. The teacher did say that for this presentation, he'd prefer it if it was presented with that in tow. It's pretty tough if you think about, I mean, think about all the effort we need to put into it. But if we want good grades, we'll have to do it," said Echizen.

"Let's do it then. We'll talk about the materials tomorrow. Right now, is it okay if you check on Usui-san of the Theater club if they have what we need? Here's his number ##########," said Yumi.

"Sure, I'll check on it," said Echizen.

"Thanks. I'll see you in school. Arigatou (14), Ja ne(15)," said Yumi.

"Ja (16)," said Echizen.

* * *

"Ja," said Echizen.

He placed the receiver back on its cradle before heading to the general direction of the kitchen. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he did feel a little thirsty just now. Ponta would be good, he thought. He was busy thinking about how many cans of the carbonated drink he should bring back to his room, when he heard that annoying chuckle just at the other side of the kitchen's opened window. When he checked, he saw a man. The man was wearing an untidy monks robe and was carrying, under his robes, what looked like a porn magazine.

"Fufufufu. Ryoma-kun, let's go out on a date tonight. Fufufu," said the man in what sounded like a chipmunk version of a girl's voice.

"Oyaji (17)," said Echizen.

"Ne, Ryoma, is it a pretty nee-chan (18) you met in school? Or is it some hot beauty in a mini-skirt?" the perverted old geezer asked.

"That's none of your business, Oyaji," said Echizen.

"Maa, you shouldn't pester him like this, uncle. Ryoma-san is a very private person," said the lady from before.

"But Nanako-chan, my son is finally showing the true colors of a man. He's finally dating! I thought he'd never move on from that hag's granddaughter," said the man as he talked to the lady he called Nanako.

"Ryuzaki is just a classmate, Oyaji. I'll be in my room now," said Echizen as he exited the kitchen, while carrying three cans of his favorite grape soda.

"RYOMA~!!!!!!!! NO! You must fill me in with the details! Who is this new sweetheart you were talking to!!!!!!!!?????" the old man wailed ungraciously.

"Uncle Nanjirou, please leave him alone. He just got home from school so let him rest. And please, throw those magazines away before Aunt Rinko decides to burn them all in front of you," said Nanako as she was leaving the kitchen.

"WAAAAAAAAAAH!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rinko-chan! Don't burn them! My precious beauties!!!!!!!!!!!!" the man wailed, grabbing as many magazines as he could before running away from the house.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed reading Tezuka-buchou no Imouto's 6th chapter. I've put a lot of effort into this for my dear readers and I hope you could comment and review for me soon. Your reviews are greatly appreciated by Ysah-chan~! They are my inspiration so please continue to support this story.

The seventh chapter will be posted, as soon as the god of free time decides to shower me with all the blessings of a free schedule. But, do not fear, I will continue writing.

Please continue to read and review. As I've mentioned in some of responses to comments/reviews, suggestions and special requests are accepted but will undergo due process before it is written down into a chapter. Side stories requested by readers are also encouraged.

R&R~!!!!!!! THANK YOU~!

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This part is intended for the Glossary or definition of terms for this chapter. The following words/sentences/phrases were used:

1. sempai-upperclassman

2. arigatou gozaimasu- thank you very much

3. onii-san- big brother (usually used to address older male teens or older brothers)

4. sou desu ne- i guess so?(this is how i understand it in this context. if there are other interpretations, please send me a comment or a PM)

5. buchou- captain

6. sempai-tachi- upperclassmen (plural form of sempai/upperclassman)

7. ja na- see you later/ bye for now

8. hai- yes/that's right

9. okaa-san- mother

10. tadaima- i'm home/i've arrived

11. okaeri nasai- welcome home/back

12. moshi moshi-hello (used in telephone conversations)

13. Tezuka Yumi desu- This is Tezuka Yumi

14 arigatou- Thanks (informal thank you)

15. ja ne- another alternative for bye for now/ see you later

16. ja- alternative for ja na/ ja ne

17. oyaji- old man (impolite way of addressing ones father or older family member)

18. nee-chan- older sister(Is used when addressing an older female or older sister)


	7. Chapter 7

Finally~! An update! I'm really sorry for the super late update. I was stuck with tons of paperwork for school and for my other extracurricular activities. Although it took me some time to update, it doesn't mean that I am putting this on hiatus or that I'm abandoning it. Please be patient with me. I'm currently a senior and struggling to finish five subjects for my last semester. Updates for this story will be slow for the time being. If you want updates about me and my writing, you can follow me on twitter. That's www(dot)twitter(dot)com(slash)Ysahaya. I post about random stuff there but I'll be posting updates on upcoming chappies from now on.

A big THANK YOU~! to the following who sent their reviews for previous chapter:

ilovethisfanfic- let's wait and see if there really is any romantic stuff here. =3 hurhurhur

Different Child- hun I'm sorry I don't get online as often anymore!

badluck-ngprod- glad you found it interesting. please read more. ^_^

Kuma the wolf Alchemist-thank you~!!!!! i'll do my best~!

Sweet Lia- here's the update. sorry it took so long.

BlueEyedSadist- I respect your opinion. Thank you very much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis a.k.a. Tenisu no Oujisama.

Now, on with the story~! (^0^)//

* * *

**Chapter 7 **

**Cousin**

"Stop playing with your necklace Yumi," said Ayana as she saw her daughter doing the action for the nth time that night.

"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous," Yumi smiled, trying to control her now shaking teeth.

"Don't be so tensed dear, Eriol-kun's not a monster that will come and eat you once you meet him. He's a very kind person. I'm sure you'll get along just fine," said her grandfather, Kunikazu as he sat comfortably in his chair.

When they arrived in the venue of the party, their family was directed into a vacant table in a private area of the ballroom. It was prepared just for their family, said the waiter. When Yumi looked around, she noticed that there was an extra chair included in their table. She was wondering why there was one and wanted to ask Ayana why, but she decided against it. There must be a special purpose for the seat, she thought.

"There are available drinks that you may order. While Eriol-sama is still chatting with the other guests, why don't you have some, sir?" the waiter suggested to Kuniharu.

"My wife and I would like some orange juice please," said Kuniharu.

"I'll have coffee please. How about the two of you? What would you like?" said Kunikazu.

"I'd like some coffee as well," said Tezuka.

"I'll have an orange juice as well please," said Yumi.

"All right, I shall repeat your orders now. Three orders of orange juice and two orders of coffee, would that be all?" said the waiter.

"That's fine. We'll just wait here," said Kunikazu, waving at the waiter as if saying that it was all they needed.

"Excuse me then," said the waiter before bowing down and leaving.

The orders arrived a good few minutes later. The guy named Eriol was yet to come to their table, he was probably still mingling with some of the other guests. Yumi felt a bit better, she'll have a bit more time to prepare her mind before she meets her new relative. But obviously, there were still others that have yet to come.

This celebration is to celebrate one of their relative's birthdays, but it doesn't necessarily mean that there will only be one relative present in the party. And by the looks of all the photographs she saw in their home, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that there would be a lot of them coming today. She was sure that all members of the Tezuka clan came from different parts of the world. The cousin she would be meeting today, according to her older brother, was born in Japan but he grew up in England, making this occasion a bit nerve racking for her.

"The young master is done mingling with the rest of the guests, Tezuk-sama. He said that he would be here momentarily," the waiter told Kunikazu.

"Thank you," said the old man.

A few more minutes later and the person they were waiting for finally arrived. The young man, seemingly around Tezuka's age, walked confidently as he approached his relatives. He was wearing an expensive looking tuxedo that made him look like the prince Yumi used to read in those English story books she had when she was little. His eyes were tantalizing. Though slightly covered by spectacles, his midnight blue eyes seemed to catch anyone else's attention right away. Those beautiful pair of orbs looked as if they were smiling, similar to that bright smile he was wearing as he approached his relatives.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said the young man as he arrived.

"Eriol, it's nice to see you again," said Kuniharu, shaking the younger man's hand as the two stood.

"And you as well, uncle. I see that your health is still as splendid as ever, grandfather," said Eriol.

"And I hope to keep it that way, son. Happy birthday," said Kunikazu as the two shook hands.

"Thank you. I'm glad you all came. I was half expecting that uncle would be busy with work at this time of the year, mother would've demanded you to drop all your paper works and come by," the young man explained.

"Ah, she'll never change. Here I thought James would finally inject something good to her at some point," said Kuniharu.

"Ah, but still, her business is definitely booming this past few years. I hear she's planning on adding another aircraft to our company," said Kunikazu.

"Yes, she's already checking the new planes. They were quite magnificent actually," said Eriol.

"The men in this family will never change. You decide to celebrate your birthday and here I thought you'd finally get your minds off of work," said Ayana as she stepped in the conversation.

"Ah, forgive us, for neglecting the beautiful rose of tonight's ball. Thank you for coming, Auntie," said Eriol.

A little while later and the conversation went on; Tezuka soon joined in after Ayana mentioned something tennis related. Yumi couldn't really tell if she should be relieved that her presence has gone unnoticed, or if she should feel neglected that even her parents forgot to introduce her. Either way, the young Tezuka chose to stay quiet instead and listen to their conversations. She didn't really expect that it would take quite a lot of time though, not to mention that the three gentlemen who began the conversation earlier were still standing.

"Goodness, that's certainly sounding marvelous. We should get the chance to test it out soon then," said Ayana.

"Once mother finishes with all of the plans, we'll be trying it out. If the first and seconds flights go well, then we shall use it for our family reunion on Christmas," said Eriol.

"My goodness, we've been standing here for quite a while now, haven't we?" said Kunikazu.

"Grandfather must be feeling his aching bones right now," Eriol teased.

"I'm still far from that age, boy. I've still got a long way to go," said Kunikazu.

"Are you still holding classes in the dojo?" Eriol asked.

"Yes, he still insists on having those students although he keeps on getting angry at them for not executing the moves right," said Kuniharu.

"No, those kids are just pure wimps whenever I'm the one teaching. When it comes to that female sensei, they'd always show how strong they are," said Kunikazu.

"I see, and who do we have here?" Eriol finally noticed Yumi.

"Oh, of course, Eriol, this is Yumi. She's Kunimitsu's sister," said Ayana.

"It's nice to meet you," Yumi dipped her head slightly.

"And it's very nice to finally meet you, Yumi-chan. I've been hearing a lot about you from Mitsu's emails to me," said Eriol.

"She's a junior high freshman in Seishuun Gakuen. It's already been a month since she started going there," said Kuniharu.

"And it's a good first month filled with top marks too. She's a female Kunimitsu in the making," said Kunikazu proudly.

"I'm suddenly feeling embarrassed now," said Yumi.

Everyone laughed. The sudden statement caused her once pressured face to look a tad calmer than she used to earlier. Hopefully, she would warm up to Eriol right away. He's a close relative of theirs; it would be a pity if she doesn't get along with him.

"Oh, don't worry. Grandfather has a habit of boasting about his grandkids a lot. If you haven't experienced coming along with him to some of his meetings with old friends, all they talk about is how their grandkids are. Now it seems that aside from me, Kunimitsu and a few others, you'd be added," said Eriol.

"Wow, ojii-sama's very quiet at home all the time. The only thing we do a lot is play Chinese checkers and drink tea, ne ojiisama," said Yumi.

"We play English chess from time to time as well," said Kunikazu.

"Oh, so you finally learned to play other board games aside from Shogi and Go," said Eriol.

"Kunimitsu was given a marvelous looking chessboard by the school last year when he won at the school festival. Otou-sama couldn't let the opportunity to use it pass," said Kuniharu.

"I look forward to playing with you sometime soon then. In the meantime, let's have dinner. Dancing will follow later of course," said Eriol.

He motioned for one of the waiters to come forward and gave orders for dinner. After a while, other waiters came and brought a menu for each member. The menu was filled with English styled cuisines, something Eriol personally chose since he is half English. Yumi wasn't familiar with the cuisines. Unlike the usual fast food meals that she sees on the television, these were cuisines that are not American. They didn't even have these kinds of food at home. Most of the food Ayana prepared were Japanese.

"Have you chosen what you want to eat, Yumi?" Ayana asked.

"Not yet. The food is all in English and I'm not so familiar with these cuisines," said Yumi.

"Oh, I see. I have a knack for forgetting that. I should've asked to have Japanese words written below the menu," said Eriol.

"It's all right, Eriol," said Kuniharu.

"All right, why don't you choose for your sister, Kunimitsu. You probably know more about what she wants to eat," said Ayana.

Tezuka looked at the menu again and checked. Yumi wasn't that picky with food. The only things she tries to avoid when eating are pickles, broccoli and cauliflower. Aside from that there weren't much that she didn't eat. He chose the ones he knew she'd eat for the appetizers to the main course; the dessert was her choice. She chose the blueberry cheesecake that she has been eyeing long before Tezuka helped her choose her meal.

Yumi thought Eriol was kidding when he said that "dancing" will follow next after the meal. Of course, in Japan, they don't usually celebrate birthdays in this manner, which made it another culture adjustment for Yumi. If having one cousin who celebrates his birthday differently is tough, she wonders how she'd feel if she met the rest of the Tezuka clan.

"You two can join Eriol and the rest of the youngsters. We'll be going there to chat with some of the guests," said Kuniharu.

"Hai, otou-sama," said Tezuka.

"Be sure to take care of Yumi you two," Ayana reminded them.

When the three left their table, Eriol called for the waiters to clean up the now empty dishes. After cleaning, the waiters came back with a food cart and placed a tea set on the table. English people are used to having after dinner tea; this is also practiced in Japan, Yumi smiled. At last there was something she was used to.

"This tea tastes great," said Yumi.

"Really? I'm glad you liked it," said Eriol.

"What kind of tea is it? It's different from the ones we have at home," said Yumi.

"It's Jackson's Earl Grey," said Tezuka.

"It's one of my mother's favorites. I'll send you some if you want," said Eriol.

"Oh, I don't want to trouble you," said Yumi.

The three continued to talk a bit more until they were finally done with tea. Eriol finally stood up and dusted nonexistent dirt from his suit. He straightened his clothes up and then turned to Yumi. He held out his hand to her.

"Would you mind honoring me with tonight's first dance, my dear cousin?" asked Eriol.

Yumi stared for a bit at the offered hand. When she finally understood, she placed her hands atop Eriol's and allowed herself to be lead to the ballroom. Upon realizing the situation, she recalled one very important detail; she wasn't accustomed to dancing the Waltz.

"Uhm…ano…Eriol-niisan," Yumi muttered.

"It's all right. I'll lead, just follow what I do and you'll get it," said Eriol, who seemed to understand what was troubling his cousin.

"Okay," said Yumi.

When the music began to play, Eriol started to move his feet. Yumi followed suit and tried to keep up with her cousin. It was confusing at first since she was unfamiliar with the footing in this dance. But as they went on, she started to enjoy it. A few moments later, others began to join them in the previously empty ballroom.

"Thank you for coming to the party, Yumi-chan," said Eriol as they were dancing.

"It's my pleasure, and happy birthday again, Eriol-niisan," said Yumi, as her dancing continuously improved.

* * *

I pray that it was to your liking. It's a bit short but I hope it's okay for now. I'll write some more soon. I'm currently doing two stories at the moment. The other one is an original and handwritten. If I get requests about it, maybe I'll post it somewhere. This one is written in between school work so sorry if it's in bits and pieces. (/o\)

No glossary part for now. I'm too busy to put up one. I wont rant anymore. hehe Please R&R. Arigatou Gozaimasu.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, I know that I fail to update sooner. I'm incredibly sorry. *bows down* Instead of writing during the break and the holidays I ended up working extra for my thesis paper and doing art stuff. I'll let you see some of those soon.

Anyways, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody! It's been a great year and I'm hoping this year will be even greater. Updates will still be slow but not as slow as this one. I finish with my thesis paper by February so updates might go on a much steadier pace this time.

My thank yous to the following people who read and gave their time to review the past chapter of this story.:

Sweet-Lia

Kuma the wolf alchemist

Lovelyanimeangel

Sakuraxgaara2233

Starwarschic11

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, otherwise known as Tenisu No Oujisama. Other characters not originating from the said anime/manga is considered a property of Ysah-chan

* * *

Chapter 8- Gifts and Meetings

After the dance, Eriol lead Yumi back to where her brother was. Tezuka just finished talking to another relative of their and was waiting back in their table. It was time for another part of the party to commence. This time, Eriol gave the guests a short speech and gave his thanks to his relatives. His speech was short and sweet and everyone applauded him. He motioned to one of the helpers and then all the waiters began distributing the party giveaways.

A young woman was the one to begin the gift giving, as she handed Eriol a midnight blue wrapped box with white ribbons. Eriol gladly accepted and placed the gift on the table beside him. After that, the rest began to line up to give their gifts to Eriol. The older guests took their sweet time and even had a small chat with the smiling host before handing their gift.

"Why don't you two take our gift to your cousin?" Kunikazu suggested.

"Go and fall in line with the rest. We'll stay here," said Ayana as she handed the paper bag to her son.

"Oh, okay," said Yumi as she followed her brother.

The queue was quite long since there were a lot of guests and there were still some who are still on their seats. Tezuka and Yumi patiently waited for their turn but Kunikazu's cousin was enjoying his chat with Eriol. There were fifteen more ahead of the siblings; a few of them were adults, similar to who Eriol was talking with at the moment.

"Yumi, could you borrow a pen from otou-sama? Okaa-sama forgot to write our names on the birthday card," said Tezuka.

"Ah, hai," said Yumi.

She walked towards their table and found her father talking to a guest. Instead of bothering him, Yumi decided to approach her mother. Ayana was in one side, apparently, the two Tezukas were both chatting with some guests; the older of the two went mingling with the other guests.

"Okaa-san, do you have a pen? Onii-chan said you forgot the names on the birthday card," Yumi said softly.

"Sou desu ka? I completely forgot about it. Your father might have one," said Ayana.

"Eh, who's this little girl?" asked the guest who was talking to Kuniharu.

"Ah, this is my daughter, Yumi. Yumi, this is Atobe-sama from Global Industries," said Kuniharu.

"Konbanwa, Tezuka Yumi desu. Yoroshikuu onegaishimasu," said Yumi, as she bowed.

"It's very nice to meet you as well, Yumi-chan. I'm Atobe Kei," said the man.

"Atobe-sama is not a blood relative, but he's close to our family. Although your onii-chan and his son are rivals in tennis," said Kuniharu.

"Hontou desu ka?" Yumi asked curiously.

"Ah, Kunimitsu-kun and Keigo-kun only meet during special events like these and during tennis tournaments. They're not close, unlike otou-chan and Atobe-sama, that's why they became rivals," Ayana explained.

"Sou ka," said Yumi.

"But, that's only in the tennis courts. They're very mature when outside the courts, if you haven't noticed," said Atobe-sama.

"Ah, I forgot. Otou-san, may I borrow a pen please? Onii-chan needs it to write our names in the birthday card for Eriol-niisan," said Yumi.

"Ah, here," said Kuniharu.

"Arigatou. I'll be back again later. It's nice meeting you, Atobe-sama," said Yumi as she bowed and walked back to where her brother is.

The line already moved when she got back; but there was another old timer who was talking to their cousin. There was no point in making a fuss about it. Tezuka wanted to write the names on the card, but it was a little difficult since he was in a standing position. He didn't want to leave the line as well, since there were already a lot of people.

"You can lean on my back, onii-chan, so you can write," Yumi suggested with a smile on her face.

"Are you sure?" asked Tezuka.

"Hai," Yumi said enthusiastically, as she offered her back to her brother.

Tezuka tried to write their names as fast as he can. Yumi on the other hand, couldn't help but giggle every time the pen touched the card. It wasn't that hard after all. She could still feel the pen as Tezuka wrote their names in Kanji.

"If you keep giggling I might write your name differently," said Tezuka, although he found it a bit funny that she was trying to hold back her giggles.

"Mou, onii-chan, don't mess my name up," said Yumi, still fighting the giggles that came to her.

"All right, I'm done. You can stop giggling now," said Tezuka as his sister turned to face him.

"Can I see it?" asked Yumi.

"Hai, dozo," said Tezuka as he handed the card.

"Onii-chan's handwriting is really amazing. I want to write like this too," said Yumi, who's always expressed how much she loved Tezuka's handwriting.

"I told you, I'll teach you when vacation comes. Be patient, Yumi," said Tezuka.

"Ah, I remembered, sensei is asking me if I could write my name in my notebooks. Could you write it for me instead?" Yumi asked.

"All right, I will, but you have to behave first," said Tezuka.

For the past month that Yumi lived with them, Tezuka grew closer with his new sister. She was just like any little girl you would meet but somehow different as well. She's just like any kid sister who always got into some sort of mischief, although she always seems to do so at home. He himself knew that it was so unlike him to be affectionate towards others, but he feels he could be that way freely whenever it was with Yumi.

Yumi felt the same way whenever she was with her brother. She was sweet to her family and friends, but she always showed more of her mischievous side to her brother. Fortunately, she hasn't caused any trouble for him yet, and she hopes she doesn't give him much in the future.

"Ne, onii-chan, there are a lot of girls in school who wants to get your personal information. I turned down a couple of them this morning. There were even some who wanted to give gifts," said Yumi.

"You know what to do to them, I already told you. Don't accept any and politely turn them down. That goes for guys who try to hit on you as well," said Tezuka.

"No one really dares to come near me now though. They think Ryoma-kun's glare is a mini version of yours," said Yumi.

"He glares at them?" Tezuka asked curiously.

"I told him to do it. It's tiring to turn down offers a lot so we decided to do this. The only condition to it is that I become Ryoma-kun's Home Economics partner," said Yumi.

"Ah, at least it helps. Just make sure Echizen also does his part of your work in Home economics," said Tezuka.

"Hai," said Yumi.

Meanwhile, five people behind the siblings, was a grey haired young man wearing a white suit. He was accompanied by a personal body guard who carried a huge box for the youth. He was on the phone with someone.

"It's just a party my father was invited to," said the guy.

"Really now, I bet you're enjoying yourself right now," said the guy on the other line.

"Shut up. Although Ore-sama is used to these kinds of parties, it does tend to get pretty boring after so long," answered the young man.

"Atobe, you're from the elite class. Get used to it! After you graduate from college, I'm sure you'll be spending even more time in these kinds of parties," said the other guy.

The guy was named Atobe, or should we say Atobe Keigo, son of the very rich Atobe Kei of the Global Industries Corporation. As the only son in the family, Atobe was forced to attend the birthday party his father was invited to. Of course, the great Atobe Keigo was interested in inheriting the billions they have in their family, but for the meantime, enjoying life the way he wanted it. At least he got to enjoy the ladies and food of the night.

"Oh, there's a cute one," said Atobe.

"What are you talking about?" asked the person from the other line.

"There's a girl here. She looks really cute; quite familiar too. She reminds me a lot about someone but I can't really point out whom," said Atobe.

"Go on and flirt then. I have much better things to do," said the guy.

The guy hung up and Atobe was left with the beeping on the other end of the line. He then watched as the girl talked to someone she was with. The guy she was talking to seemed awfully familiar to him.

"Tezuka?" he muttered aloud.

Tezuka turned as he heard someone call his name. He was expecting a relative of theirs to be the one calling but instead it was someone unexpected. Who'd expect the great 'Ore-sama' to come to a social gathering that doesn't include other people who get highly intimidated by him? Well, apparently, he picked this day to come.

* * *

Well that's it for now. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Again, please read and review. Your support helps a lot. btw. follow me on twitter and interact with me! I need your ideas for the next chapter! look for Ysahaya :) Thankies~!


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, this update came faster than I imagined it to be. I'm so proud of myself! I hope this chapter makes you smile as well. This allows us to see a glimpse of the characters' other characteristics and I think I delivered well. Also, the last part is a cliffhanger. You all probably know who the person is so the first to post her name along with their review wins a drawing from me! Hihi. Kidding.

Thanks to the following who took the time to post their review for this story. My heartfelt thanks to all of you:

Invisible-gurl- your right, we'll have to wait for Tezuka's total big brother mode in the next chapter *woops* spilled a spoiler there.

Sweet-Lia no my dear, I did not forget to update, rather I was blocked that I couldn't update. But I can finally do so now.

Lovelyanimeangel- we'll see if it's going to be an AtobexOC or other .

Kim-chan-sempai- we'll see about it. But so far my ideas are all jumbled up for the pairings.

Kuma the wolf alchemist- The next chapter might be to your liking =D Hehe..

Shadow Mistress-of death- Thanks for loving it!!! And a MWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA to you too!! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, otherwise known as Tenisu No Oujisama. Other characters not originating from the said anime/manga is considered a property of Ysah-chan

* * *

Chapter 9

"I never knew you liked dating girls younger than you are, Tezuka. I know a number of them from my fans club, I'll introduce you," said Atobe.

"Don't make me sound like a molester, Atobe. If I didn't know better, I'd say you just came to look for English girls that are acquainted or related to my cousin," said Tezuka.

Tezuka never really liked arguing with Atobe so much. During most times that they'd meet, he preferred keeping his opinions to himself and simply ignoring the loud diva. But this time was a little different, of course, since it somehow involves his younger sister. Tezuka knew that Atobe was the type who didn't mind the age of the girls he dated, as long as they were pretty and came up to his standards. He remembered hearing a story from Momoshiro that the said guy was trying to hit on the Fudomine tennis club captains younger sister.

"Oh, is that so? Well anyway, who is this charming girl? You're not dating this stoic guy now, am I right?" said Atobe, addressing Yumi mostly.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, but I don't talk to strangers," said Yumi, keeping herself close to her brother.

"Ooh, a feisty one. Don't worry; I probably suit you more than Tezuka does. He's so boring I bet even his old man gets tired with him," said Atobe.

"My brother is not boring. It's offensive to say such words when you're not really that close to the person you are trying to bad mouth. Plus, I'm not interested in guys who talk through their noses," said Yumi.

Atobe was taken aback at that. Did he just hear her say that? Is this girl really his rival's younger sister? And did she just say that he spoke through his nose? Oh, for the love of Venus, he doesn't speak like that. His accent might somehow have a certain characteristic different to a typical Japanese but it was because of his English side.

"I do not speak through my nose. I am, after all, best in class and that includes my Japanese language class. Tezuka, is this girl really your sister?" said Atobe, his eyebrow twitching from the sudden provocation by a little girl.

"Yes, she is. Now, do excuse us, Atobe. We need to be going now," said Tezuka.

The diva fumed as he watched the two make their way back to their parents. Yumi followed Tezuka closely as they walked. It seemed like Tezuka was saying something to Yumi, but Atobe was much too far to hear and to see Yumi's expression. Deciding that it was better off if he cooled down from his fuming, Atobe decided to go to the refreshments table. Coincidentally, his dad was there chatting with one of his business buddies.

"Ah, Keigo, did you give the gift to Eriol-kun?" asked the company president.

"Yes, father, and I had the pleasure of meeting my good rival as I was giving it to his cousin. I never knew the guy had a younger sister," said Atobe.

"Oh, you mean Yumi-chan? She's a very pretty girl, isn't she? Very nice too, but her mom mentioned that she gets a little feisty whenever her brother is concerned," said Atobe-sama **(1).**

"I guess she is," said Atobe.

"Well then, we should be saying our goodbyes now. I have a meeting tomorrow at a very early time and I do not wish to attend it with very little sleep," said the president as he handed one of the waiters his empty glass.

"Yes, father," said Atobe.

* * *

Tezuka knew of this side of Yumi. It was something similar to what she did when she overheard some seniors badmouthing her brother to some of his admirers. She was so upset she nearly cried while saying that her brother is the kindest person she's ever met. Tezuka reminded himself to keep a close eye on his sister from time to time since she seems to be a little too impulsive when it comes to siding with him. He was touched, of course by her way of protecting him, but he was a little scared that it may lead to something rather nasty. That's why he's relieved that Echizen does a great job at being his secret spy when it comes to Yumi.

"Otou-san its cold," he heard Yumi say as they were waiting for Eriol to come back. She sat next to their father while waiting.

"I know it is, darling. We'll go home soon," Kuniharu said reassuringly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I have some giveaways for you," said Eriol.

"Thank you, Eriol-kun. Do come and visit us at home from time to time. We'd love to have you over for dinner sometime," said Ayana.

"Oh, and a nice game of chess should be good too. I'll ask the helpers to make your favorite snacks when you come over," said Kunikazu.

"Sounds inviting, grandfather. I'll be sure to come and visit. And, I'd love to see my dear cousins again next time," said Eriol.

"Please do come and visit us," said Tezuka.

"I will. I'm excited for the chess match and I'm excited to see Yumi-chan once again," said Eriol.

"We'll see you soon then, Eriol-niichan," said Yumi.

"See you soon," said Eriol.

* * *

*sound of school bell on background* **(2)**

That was the sound of the warning bell. Lunch just ended and the first years all headed to the Home Economics room to prepare for the next lesson. They were asked to bake cakes and as a pair, Yumi and Ryoma decided to bake a strawberry shortcake. The rest of the class was making other kinds of cakes. The freshmen trio worked as a group and they were making a chocolate marble cake, although Horio doesn't seem to be helping much.

"So you met Atobe-san last night, Yumi-chan?" asked Kachiro.

"Yes, I did and he was very rude. He made it sound like my brother was a pedophile or something," said Yumi.

"Well, what did your brother say?" asked Katsuo.

"Let's not talk about him. We still have to finish this cake," said Yumi.

"I'm finished with the strawberries. Let's start mixing the rest," said Ryoma.

"You two are a good team, you know?" said Kachiro.

"Yeah, unlike Horio who seems to be a useless member of your group. You should kick him off your group and work as a pair," said Ryoma.

"Hey, I heard that Echizen. I'm simply waiting for the hard part of the process. That's where I get in," said Horio.

"Whatever you say, Horio-kun, but Ryoma-kun is right. If you don't do your part, we'll kick you off," said Katsuo.

"Eh?? Okay, okay, I'll help!!" Horio panicked.

When the home economics class ended, the five made their way out of the room while carrying their outputs in pastry boxes. Yumi and Ryoma made a batch for the tennis club but they made separates for the ones they were taking home. The freshmen trio, fortunately, finished their chocolate marble cake just in time for the end of the class.

"Hey, look Kachiro-kun. A lot of people are ganging up on our classroom," Katsuo pointed out.

"Maybe something happened," said Kachiro.

"Why don't we check it out?" asked Horio.

When they reached the classroom, there was a group of girls who stood around someone. The only thing visible was the person's auburn head as he or she stood in the middle of the crowd. When the crowd saw the five of them enter the room, the girls giggled and parted to let the person in the middle to come out.

"It's nice to see you again, Ryoma-kun," said a dark auburn haired girl.

* * *

Okay, I may have cut it a tad bit too short. But I think it's enough. The next chapter is quite longer than this one so it'll take a longer time for me to update. Gomen in advance for that. Anyway, Please R&R once again! Your support helps me think better!


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, I was overwhelmed by your kind reviews last time. Thank you very much everybody! Your reviews just inspired me to right more! ^_^ Teehee~! Oh..by the way. I have a new tumblr account. You can follow me there if you have one. Please inform me too so I can follow you as well. The account is ayaheartsyousomuch (dot) tumblr (dot) com. Hihihi..

After reading this I might also get some haters because of the sudden twist in a character's personality; however I would like to clarify that this story is purely a work of my own mind and not by the 'real' writer of _Tenisu No Oujisama_. Please be kind and don't stone me to death.

Thanks to the following who took the time to post their review for this story. My heartfelt thanks to all of you:

**Kris 77**- somewhat, it'll be explained thoroughly in the coming chapters. I think I already gave hints here though.

**White Alchemist Taya**- thanks for the info, it was already clarified by the person who reviewed it. I was merely asking the reviewers OWN interpretation since there may be other understandings of the mentioned term. Still, I thank you for the information you've imparted.

**.RyuuxXx **– I'm starting to consider the idea. I'll think about it for a bit more then we'll see about it.

**Shadow Mistress-of death**- hihi Thanks thanks~! MWAHAHAHHAHAHA again~!

**Mewmewlover23**- Sure thing. I'll write and write and write for you and my other readers!

**Kim-chan-sempai**- hihi let's see who it is then~! Teehee ^_^

**Sweet-Lia**- fast right?! I was surprised myself. And yeah, this chapter is one of my favez because of the Atobe and Yumi part…hihi

**Invisible-gurl** totally owned right? Hehe…ooooh…you're on the right track…hihihi XD

_Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, otherwise known as Tenisu No Oujisama. Other characters not originating from the said anime/manga is considered a property of Ysah-chan_

* * *

**Chapter 10- The Antagonist and the Cynophobic**

"It's nice to see you again, Ryoma-kun," said a dark auburn haired girl.

"Huh? Do I know you?" asked Ryoma.

"Eh? How could you forget so quickly about me, Ryoma-kun?" the girl pouted.

"Eto, Riyuzaki is that you? Wow, you changed a lot!" said Horio.

"Eh? Is this really Riyuzaki?" Katsuo and Kachiro asked simultaneously.

Yumi didn't really understand what was different from the girl since it was the first time that she's met with the girl. But by the looks of it, she seems to be someone who came from the United States. She wasn't wearing her uniform and her clothes looked different for an average Japanese girl.

"Oh I just got back from America. I spent a month with my totally awesome cousins who gave me a great makeover," the girl ranted on.

"I see, that's a big change. I never thought you'd part with your braids," said Katsuo.

"Those are so kid-like. My new hair suits me better, you know," said Sakuno.

"Oh, by the way, Riyuzaki-chan, this is Tezuka-buchou's younger sister. Her name is Tezuka Yumi and she's in the same class as us. Too bad you're in a different section with Osakada," said Horio.

"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you," said Sakuno.

"Same here, it's nice to meet you as well. I'm sorry but we have to get going. We have Math class next," said Yumi.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you later then. Toodles," said Sakuno as the group passed and went inside their room.

* * *

The classes went on until the afternoon and then they were dismissed to their own after school activities. Of course, Yumi, Ryoma and the freshmen trio went to the tennis club afternoon practice. Yumi, who doesn't have any clubs to join yet, volunteered to help out in the club while she's deciding on which club to join. She occasionally played matches with her senpai-tachi and her friends when given the chance.

"You and Riyuzaki-san seem close," said Yumi as she and Ryoma watched a match between Kawamura and Kaidoh.

"Not really, I didn't remember her name until the trio mentioned it," said Ryoma.

"Well, she does seem interested in you, just like all those screaming fangirls who follow you around during matches," said Yumi.

"Why do you ask so much about her? Are you jealous?" Ryoma joked.

"Jerk. Of course not," said Yumi.

"I'm just kidding. She used to have a crush on me, well; at least Momo-senpai says so. She looks so different though, not like the Riyuzaki we used to know," said Ryoma.

"Horio and the other two mentioned the same thing. Obviously it was a drastic change," said Yumi.

"Ryoma-kun!" they heard a voice yell from the other courts.

When they turned around, they saw Riyuzaki approaching, alongside with another girl from their year; Osakada Tomoko. They were coming from the girls' tennis club's side. They both looked giddy and excited to see Ryoma on the other side of the courts.

"Your fangirls are waiting for you," Yumi chided.

"And this brings me back to the question, 'are you jealous?'" said Ryoma.

"You really are a jerk," Yumi laughed.

"How are you Ryoma-kun?" asked Sakuno as the two of them finally got close to the two, although the high fence separated them.

"Fine," Ryoma muttered.

"We missed you during free period. You didn't even leave your classroom," said Sakuno.

"We were getting ready for our History report during that time," said Yumi.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Yumi-san. I guess you still haven't joined a club yet. That's why you volunteered in the boys' tennis club right?" asked Osakada.

"Yes, that's right. I find the club really nice though, so it doesn't really matter. I might ask sensei to allow me to stay here instead. They're in need of a manager anyway," said Yumi.

"Really? I didn't hear anything about that. Are there any requirements for the managerial position?" asked Osakada.

"Well, it's mostly for the top students, right?" said Ryoma.

"Yeah, you need 'A' pluses and a minimum of 'B' minus. That's the lowest it can get," said Yumi.

"That's rather high, isn't it?" said Osakada.

"Most of the top students are already hold high positions in other clubs so Yumi's the next one in line. She holds the top place in our year level," said Ryoma.

"Oh, I see. So you'll be working closely with the regulars?" asked Sakuno.

"Yeah, it's likely," said Yumi.

"Yumi-chan! We need an umpire and a scorer! You and Ochibi can do it for us!" Kikumaru yelled from the other side of the court.

"See you later," said Yumi as she and Ryoma went to the umpire's chair and scorer's place.

* * *

Sakuno is definitely pissed by this sudden development with Ryoma. She never expected someone else to be close to Ryoma when she got back. This was definitely a downside to her plan to get closer to Ryoma and to charm the ace player to be her boyfriend. She worked so hard on getting a makeover from her cousins and she's not about to waste a month's worth of working hard just to be ignored again. Even if Tezuka Yumi is the youngest sister of the tennis club's captain, she wouldn't allow the girl to a hindrance to her plans.

"What are you thinking about Sakuno-chan?" asked Osakada.

"Tomo-chan, I don't like that Yumi girl. She's so close to Ryoma-kun, she doesn't deserve it as much as we do," said Sakuno.

"What do you mean, Sakuno-chan? Yumi-san is a very nice girl, I admit that I get jealous sometimes because the two of them are really close but it doesn't mean I don't like her," said Osakada.

"Whatever, I just don't like her," said Sakuno.

"What do you plan to do?" asked Osakada.

"I'm not so sure yet but I have to find a way to separate those two and to get Ryoma-kun and I closer," said Sakuno.

"You've definitely changed Sakuno. I don't know if it's for the better but I'll still support you," said Osakada.

"Thanks Tomo-chan. Now, let's go," said Sakuno as she lead the way back to the other side.

* * *

It was dinner time in the Tezuka household and the two younger Tezukas were helping their mother to get the table set before their grandfather and father came home. Kuniharu was coming from a meeting while his father went back to the police station to do some work in the Judo. The old man was highly respected by the police when it came to his martial arts skills that he was often called out to check on some of their new recruits.

While the two were setting the table, Ayana busied herself with finishing the dinner. Her helpers were inside the kitchen with her. It was already June and the weather was getting rather warm. She decided to prepare some cold desserts for everyone, especially her youngest who loved to eat desserts more than anyone else in the house.

"I saw Riyuzaki talking to you and Echizen earlier. Is she doing well?" asked Tezuka.

"I guess so. She looks so western though. Horio-kun showed me a photo of them two months ago. She looks really different," said Yumi.

"With the outer appearance she looks different, but is her attitude still the same? She used to be a sweet girl, you know?" said Tezuka.

"I don't know. I didn't really notice," said Yumi.

"She's a sweet girl. I used to babysit her when she was younger. Sensei was busy with a lot of stuff back then," said Tezuka.

"Oh, so she's sweet," Yumi muttered, pouting a bit after saying that.

Tezuka stopped wiping the bowls and turned to look at his sister. Yumi was the jealous type of sister. Most of the time she'd say stories of those girls who wants to confess to him and when he'd mention good things about them she stayed silent. She didn't express it but of course she still has the tendency to think that she is adopted and that they are still capable of adopting a better daughter or sister. This is just her insecurities again and Tezuka always made sure that she didn't feel so insecure at times.

"Yes, but not as sweet as my little sister," he said, just to pacify the younger Tezuka. At this rate, he's sure that his sister would grow up to have a big-brother complex.

"Thank you for setting the table you two. You've been very helpful," said Ayana.

"Tadaima!" said two voices from the front door.

* * *

During Saturdays, the tennis club usually met up to have afternoon practice at the street tennis courts. Seishuun Gakuen, although they allowed the use of the tennis courts during Saturdays, doesn't hold classes during the mentioned day. That's why during Saturdays, the tennis club regulars, along with Yumi and the freshmen trio, hold practice matches in the street tennis court for extra training and sometimes for simply hanging out together. It was always a treat whenever Kawamura's dad would drop by and bring them some snacks from the sushi bar. Kikumaru, Ryoma and Momoshiro were always the ones fighting over the sushi, while Fuji was the only one who preferred eating the wasabi rolls that were left unattended by the others.

After one of their Saturday practice matches, Kawamura's dad called and asked his son to come over and pick up their afternoon snack. The shop was full of customers and the old man couldn't close it down and bring the food over to the courts. Kawamura, Inui, Kaidoh and Fuji were the ones who went over to get the food. Tezuka, Oishi, Kikumaru and Momoshiro were the ones who left to buy some drinks in the convenient store a block away from the courts.

"How do you do that twist serve again?" Yumi asked curiously, as she was watching Ryoma hit the tennis ball against the wall.

"Don't you get tired of seeing the same serve over and over again? I've shown you how to do it for a lot of times already," said Ryoma.

"I'm just curious. I don't play much so it's fun seeing advanced techniques in tennis," said Yumi.

"Your brother's the captain, need I remind you, and he's one of the best players in this team," said Ryoma.

"I know that," said Yumi.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!! Quick!! Run!!" Horio shouted as he ran pass them.

"What the--!!" said Ryoma as he turned and saw a big German shepherd running after Katsuo and Kachiro.

His first instinct was to run and climb up one of the nearby trees but when he turned to look, Yumi was shaking terribly and couldn't seem to move at all. Automatically, what Ryoma did was to drop his racket, pull Yumi away and take the both of them up the nearby tree. Of course it wasn't a very easy task to do, since they are almost the same size and all but it seemed his adrenaline kicked in and he got the two of them up the tree right away.

"We'll be fine here," he tried to tell his female companion, but the young girl started sobbing.

The sobbing got worst when the dog started growling and barking loudly. It seemed to have triggered some sort of fear in Yumi and she started screaming. Ryoma made sure to hold on tighter since he was afraid Yumi would fall from the tree. He couldn't think of a way to calm her down.

"Tiger!" a familiar voice called.

"Yumi! Echizen! Are you all right!?" Tezuka's voice was heard.

When Ryoma looked, Tezuka and the others was back, along with the captain of their rival team, Atobe Keigo. The said guy was holding a dog leash and was approaching the vicious looking dog as if it was the most common thing in the world.

"Onii-chan!" Yumi screamed as she saw her brother, her eyes already red from having cried so much.

Tezuka made sure Atobe got the dog back on its leash first before getting his sister off the tree. She was trembling hard and her lips were already very pale. Though her tears already seized up, her hiccupping still didn't stop and she held on dearly to her brother when she got down.

"That was a very stupid thing to do Atobe-kun. Someone could get hurt if you just release your dog like that," said Oishi.

"He wouldn't hurt someone unless they hurt him or provoke him," the diva scoffed.

"Are you really insane Atobe? Didn't you see what just happened to my sister? She's pale and trembling! Unlike you, my sister cannot tolerate dogs easily," Tezuka said angrily.

"Tezuka, don't get so worked up. It's just a dog," Atobe said calmly.

"For your information, my sister has a serious case of Cynophobia. If I hadn't come on time and she fell from that tree, I swear, I'll castrate you and skin you alive," said Tezuka, his face scrunched up into a really angry expression.

No one has ever seen the tennis captain this angry before. If ever he was, in the past, he didn't show it as much as he was showing it now. The way he got angry with Atobe clearly was a sign that he was serious this time around. This situation gave the signal to everyone that Yumi was never to be hurt by anyone at all, otherwise, they will have to face the wrath of Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't—I wasn't aware of it. I'm sorry," said Atobe, obviously embarrassed and affected by what just occurred between him and his rival.

"Tezuka-buchou, you should get Yumi-chan to a bench. I'll call senpai-tachi to hurry up," said Momoshiro.

"Here's some water, let her have some, nyah," said Kikumaru.

"Echizen, thank you for helping her again," Tezuka said suddenly.

"It's nothing, buchou. I wouldn't leave my best friend freezing in fear like that," said Ryoma.

* * *

All right!!!!!!!!! I got 8 pages!! Wee! Longest I ever got to write after so long. Hehe. Well, it's still fun and it's still a pleasure to write. Did I take too long? Sorry about that. The next chapter will be up in a few days. I think I may be having a few days off from school but not from thesis writing, but still, I will try my utmost best to update. Oh, by the way, I took my sweet time writing this one because I was also writing an original story for some friends of mine who follow my work. Hihi. So sorry about the waiting. Again, please read and review!

P.S. Cynophobia is an abnormal fear of dogs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not cynophobic, but the phobia stuck to my mind more than the others so I used it. teehee. ^_^

* * *

**Ysah-chan's mini emoticon lessons!!! (tadaaaaaaa!!!)**

*3* - Kissy kissy face

._. – blank face

;_; - about to cry

;A; - crying desperately

That's all for now! I'll show you more emoticons soon! Hihihi *3*


	11. Chapter 11a

Sorry for the super late update.I've been really weird lately but I don't really know why. Oh well, At least I'm happy with how this one came out. It's just a part one of the Summer Holidays series all right. It might go up to two or three parts but they will, of course, will still be under **CHAPTER 11. **This one will be 11-A all right. Hehe, anyhooo..please continue your support and love for this story. Updates or slight hints will be given through my twitter account, under my username **Ysahaya. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenisu no Oujisama. It is, indubitably, owned by its writer and illustrator. Other characters mentioned that are not from the original story are properties of **Ysah-chan**. They are mine and mine alone. hihi..

Special thanks to those who reviewed. My personal thanks are expressed here:

NAO-chan33 - Yes, Atobe is an idiot. However, he is one of the biggest idiots that I love somehow ahihihi...

CosplayerHikari- yes, it has been pointed out that i spelled it incorrectly. Please excuse me for being so dizzy hihi...I was typing during the weee hours of dawn haha..Oh and thanks for liking my story ^_^

invisible-gurl- yeah, well i always read stories that involve a goody-two-shoes Sakuno so I decided to put a little edge to this version of Sakuno. Ryo-tan...ooh i like teh term...*asks permission to use that in story* =3 Oh and we'll have to wait for the next coming parts of Chapter 11. hihi..

Ladey Heartly- He is cool isn't he~!!! I just love a really cool Ryoma~! hihi ^_^

mewmewlover23- thanks~! oh you can check it out on my profile page. I post almost all of my pages there~! ^_^

Shadow Mistress-of death-ooh don't praise me too much i might faint ^///^ Oh and don't worry about teh kissy kissy here's one for yah too~! *3*

cannottellalie- ooh i'm so sorry for mis-spelling it,..I was too dizzy haha..anyhoo..thanks for reviewing~! and here's your SHARK ATTACKING A CHEERLEADER _/\_*\0/*_/\_

Sweet-lia- I dunno bout the YukimuraXYumi...but i'm leaning more on ryoXyumi at the moment..*ooops-spoiler-face* haha ^_^ we'll see how it progresses. for now, please read and review once again.

* * *

Chapter 11

Summer Holidays Part 1

The rest of the month was spent on random events in school. There were tournaments here and there and there were other events involving other school clubs. Being the Student Council President, Tezuka had to be involved in a number of assemblies and meetings. There were a ton of papers to sign too. Luckily, there were other people in the council who got really involved and it helped to lessen the tasks Tezuka was handling. There were a number of volunteers as well, but Tezuka had no time to pay attention to them and had to continue juggling his classes, the council, the tennis club and taking care of his younger sister.

Everyone views Tezuka as a natural leader and a model student. That's pretty much everything he hears whenever other people are talking about him but he doesn't really mind it all. He has always other people's opinions but it's different when people actually say the truth. Fortunately for him, Yumi picked up his instructions right away and followed him; otherwise, the kind little girl would be going home along with a sack full of love letters for him. That would be bad. It's time consuming to read and reply to the letters and carrying that sack would mean risking his sister's back getting hurt. He wouldn't want the last one to happen.

"Tezuka-san, here are the financial reports for the last two activities of the Photography club. I've already fixed everything up so you just have to look over them," said a girl.

Tezuka was concentrating on the last few Activity plans that were passed to him prior to the council meeting. He was still looking over one the plans when the girl handed the said financial reports.

"Sugoi, Mizuno-san is really great. Even if Fuji-san is the President of the Photography club, she's already finished the financial report to make it easier for Tezuka-shachou," said his secretary.

"It wasn't much. I heard the council was handling a lot of stuff and I figured it would help if I lessened the load," said Mizuno-san.

Tezuka was reading the financial report while the others were chatting amicably. He noticed that everything he needed was already written and that the only thing he had to do was sign the form. It was certainly a big help. He couldn't help but notice how clean the paper was too; the Football team passed an incredibly mashed up form that he had to squint his eyes before deciphering the unusual penmanship of the club captain.

"Ah, Arigatou," he said as he finally looked up.

"Its fine, shachou," said Mizuno.

"Isn't she great, Tezuka-shachou? She's the vice president of the Photography club and she's also a writer in the school paper. I heard she's second highest in their class," said the secretary.

"You're in Fuji's class aren't you?" asked Tezuka.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd notice me. I'm Mizuno Tenshi, class B," said Mizuno.

"Well, thank you for your help, Mizuno-san," said Tezuka.

"You're welcome. I have to get going. I have to get some stuff ready for our photo exhibit," said Mizuno.

"Oh, right. I did hear Fuji-kun say something about that," said the vice president, who was also in the room, looking over some papers.

"Yeah, oh and by the way, I heard your younger sister signed up in the club too, shachou. She said she agreed to be your tennis club manager but she also joined our club," said Mizuno.

"What?" Tezuka asked.

"Well, you should just ask her. Anyway, I'll see you later, bye," said Mizuno before she left the room.

Mizuno Tenshi, she was the same girl he saw in their opening ceremony for the freshmen last April. She didn't stand out as much the other girls but something about he just kept bugging Tezuka. It waned down once he started his duties as captain for the tennis club, but now that he's seen her again, he obviously had that unusual feeling revived again. Tenshi, or angel as it is translated in English, rather fits her. She looks a lot like an angel with those innocent eyes of hers.

* * *

"I didn't know you're sister liked photography, Tezuka," said Fuji as they were watching a practice match between Oishi and Momoshiro.

"I didn't know about it either. I was surprise when Mizuno-san mentioned that she joined your club," said Tezuka.

"Yes, I was surprised myself. But I suppose Yumi-chan can become an asset to the club. If you don't mind, I'd like to give her a crash course on photography during the vacation. That is if your family doesn't have any plans to go somewhere," said Fuji.

"We were planning to go to our summer house but its fine. Okaa-sama wanted to invite you and the others anyway," said Tezuka.

"Really? That's so sweet of her," said Fuji.

"She said she wants to see how Yumi's behaving when she's with her friends," said Tezuka.

"Saa, your mother sure is very protective of her," said Fuji.

"Aren't we all over protective of her? I notice how you and the rest of the regulars try to stir her away from guys trying to hit on her," said Tezuka.

"Well, she is our club manager and your younger sister. We share the brotherly love you have for her," said Fuji.

"But honestly, Fuji, thank you for looking after her while I'm not around. At least I'm confident that some of you are around to check on her while I'm busy with the council work," said Tezuka.

_

* * *

Start of summer holidays_

The trip to the Tezuka family's summer home was quite fun. Almost all of the members of the regulars came, except for Taka-san, Kaidoh and Inui. Taka-san had to help out in their family's Sushi bar, Kaidoh's family already planned something out for the summer holiday, and Inui was on a trip with his brother to a well-known laboratory somewhere in Tokyo University. The rest of them were happy enough to come along with the kind family.

During the train ride to Karuizawa (1) the regulars and Yumi played card games and mind games while the Ayana, Kuniharu and Kunikazu watched as the younger ones played happily. Fuji and Yumi were trying to take photos while others were taking their turns playing. Yumi received a brand new Canon DSLR camera from her grandfather as a gift after finding out that she entered the photography club. Apparently, the old man had an inclination to the hobby when he was younger. He even showed Yumi and Fuji his antique cameras and some of the photos he took back when he was younger.

"Are we going to take a taxi to the summer house, otou-san?" asked Yumi.

"No, there's someone coming to pick us up, dear. Your otou-san called ahead since there are a lot of us coming," said Ayana.

"I can't wait to relax once we get there," said Kunikazu as he flipped through the newspaper he bought.

"Are you going fishing, otou-sama?" Ayana asked.

"Mochiron (Of course)," said Kunikazu.

"Can we come along when you go fishing, grandpa?" asked Yumi.

"You actually are. But you and your brother are still going to get some fishing rods for yourselves. Oh, and you have to buy from the bait shop too," said Kunikazu.

"Cool, I love fishing. It's so relaxing," said Momoshiro.

"Grandpa Tezuka must be really good with fishing, nya. I hope we catch some big ones," said Kikumaru.

"If you do we can have some grilled fish," said Ayana.

"Yey!" said Momoshiro and Kikumaru.

"Maa, Eiji and Momo are really happy whenever it concerns food," said Oishi.

"Ayana-san do you know how to make sushi?" asked Fuji.

"Yes, Yumi enjoys eating sushi so I try to make some as often as I can," said Ayana.

When they arrived at Karuizawa, there was already a car waiting for them at the front of the station. The limousine was an unexpected ride, well, to the regulars that is, but not for the Tezuka family. They got in and took a twenty minute ride until they got to the summer house. They let the time to pass by while rehydrating themselves with the juice drinks they found inside the car. Summer is always accompanied by the heat and unfortunately, it also means that they're slightly more prone to dehydration since they're all active.

"We're here," said Kuniharu as he opened the door to lead them all out.

"Yey!" said Yumi and Kikumaru, the two of them have been sharing their snacks while waiting for their stop.

"Now, Ayana and I are in one room at the first floor across the sitting room and grandfather will be staying in his old room at the end of this hall. The rest of you will be staying upstairs. There are a lot of rooms upstairs. You can pair up if you want to. Yumi gets a room to herself, of course," said Kuniharu.

"You can all go upstairs for now and rest. We'll see you in two hours for some afternoon snacks," said Ayana

"Hai," said everyone.

They all went upstairs to check out the rooms. They decided to have two people in a room, since there were three rooms that had two beds each. Oishi and Tezuka took one room, Momoshiro and Ryoma also took one and lastly, Kikumaru and Fuji took the last room with two beds. Yumi's room was the one nearest Tezuka and Oishi's room. They all went to their respective rooms and started unpacking their belongings. Unlike Kuniharu and the other two adults, the Seigaku students decided to roam around after a few minutes of resting.

"Done unpacking?" asked Tezuka as his younger sister entered their room.

"That was fast, Yumi-chan," said Oishi as he hung his shirts on the hanger.

"I was too excited to look around," she grinned.

"Well, where do you want to go first then, Yumi-chan?" asked Oishi.

"Can we go and buy something cold first?" said Yumi.

"There's an old fashioned candy shop that sells shaved ice and ice cream somewhere here. We can go there if you want," said Tezuka.

"Yay! I hope they have some good flavors," said Yumi.

"You should go and tell okaa-san we're going out first," said Tezuka.

"Okay, I'll go tell them. See you later," said Yumi before leaving the room.

After she left, the two continued to fold their clothes and unpack the other clothes they had in their bags. They also checked their tennis equipments if they were all okay. Karuizawa is quite known for tennis and of course, they wouldn't enjoy their summer vacation if they didn't get the chance to play tennis. Of course, that's just one of their plans for the summer. They also had some other things in mind, such as visiting Ginza, buying freshly made fruit jams and going to summer festivals. They even bringed their yukatas with them for the festival.

"Yumi-chan likes traveling a lot doesn't she?" asked Oishi.

"She does, even if it's only a short distance. She enjoys coming to father's office just because she could come along and do what she likes," said Tezuka.

"She's really cute. No wonder a lot of guys like her in school," said Oishi.

"And that reality scares me more than it scares my father. I guess that's why I let Echizen hang out with her more, because I know that at least he's harmless," said Tezuka.

"That's true, and they seem to be closer. Echizen spends more time with her than he does with the Ichinen trio nowadays," said Oishi.

"It doesn't seem like Ryuuzaki-sensei's granddaughter is pleased with it though," said Tezuka.

"Yes, that sweet girl has changed a lot," said Oishi as he folded the last few shirts he had on his lap.

_Knock knock—_

"Are you guys done?" asked Fuji as he popped inside the room.

"Yes, just finished. How about you and Eiji?" asked Oishi.

"I'm done. I had to help Eiji though. His bag was a mess," said Fuji.

"As expected of Kikumaru," said Tezuka.

The old-fashioned candy shop was only a few blocks away so they decided to walk on the way there. The helpers in the summer house were kind enough to point them towards the right direction of the candy shop. Apparently, most tourists come there to buy sweets for souvenirs and other items. It's known to be the best shop to buy shaved ice from since they had a wide range of flavors available.

"Watermelon flavored shaved ice sounds nice," said Yumi as she and Ryoma were looking at the flavors available.

"Which one's your best seller, Mr.?" asked Fuji.

"Oh, a lot of people like most of the shaved ice here. But the strawberry, watermelon and the lime flavored ones are the best," said the seller.

"I'll have the lime, nya!" said Kikumaru.

"That's three limes, ne Tezuka?" asked Oishi.

"Ah," said Tezuka.

"I want the strawberry one, please," said Yumi.

"Me too," said Ryoma.

"And two watermelons for me and Momo," said Fuji.

"All right, please wait awhile. You can look around the shop while waiting. We have a wide range of sweets and some fresh fruits here," said the seller.

There were some racks of fruits in one side of the shop. There were some huge watermelons and some fresh strawberries that Yumi loved too. Yumi and Fuji took some cute macro shots of the fruits while other busied themselves with the snacks around them. Tezuka bought a whole watermelon to take home with them for later.

"Oh, what's this?" asked Kikumaru.

"It's a jellpop. After eating it you can check the stick to see if you won something," said Oishi.

"Let's try some," said Momo.

"I want one too," said Yumi.

"All right, Momo, Yumi, Ochibi and I will try it," said Kikumaru.

Kikumaru took four and paid for it in the nearby counter. Afterwards the four of them started eating their jellpops. It wasn't like the usual sweet lollipops that you can buy in the supermarket, these were all made of jelly and you can finish it off easily. Momo and Ryoma were competing as to who would finish their jellpops first.

"Oh, I get a price. It says I get a free bag of chips," said Kikumaru as he showed his stick up.

"I get a small box of strawberries," said Ryoma.

"What? I didn't get anything," said Momo.

"What did you get Yumi-chan?" asked Fuji.

"It says I get a plush doll and some fruit jam," she beemed.

"Waah~! That's great, nya!" said Kikumaru.

"That's great miss! Aside from that, you're also invited to the summer festival on Friday. You get a special treat from one of our booths there. Of course, all of you can come with her as well," said the seller as he handed the prizes.

"That's great!" said Momo.

"We should get going now," said Oishi.

"Oh, do you want us to just deliver the watermelon to your house, young man?" asked the seller.

"Yes please, send it to the Tezuka household. Thank you," said Tezuka.

During their walk around the town, Tezuka acted as their guide. They looked at all the random shops around Ginza and bought some souvenirs to take home to their families. Kikumaru and Momoshiro tended to buy more food than souvenirs though. They keep getting sidetracked by the food stalls in the area where they were checking out. Oishi had to drag them out from one of the stalls so they could continue their little tour around town.

"I think we took a lot of pictures today, don't you think so, Yumi-chan?" asked Fuji.

"Yeah, I'm going to show them to Okaa-san and Otou-san when we get home," said Yumi.

"Let's take some more good shots then. I bet your grandfather would be really pleased when he sees how you used his gift to you," said Fuji.

"There's a nearby park here. We can go and rest there for a bit. You can also take some more photos there," said Tezuka.

"I think Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai could use the rest," said Echizen as he pointed to the two who looked like they were about to hurl from all the food they ate.

The group headed to the nearby park to let the two overly fed guys to rest. There were a lot of trees and beautiful flowers around the park. There were also children playing on the jungle gym at the middle. Yumi and Fuji had their cameras ready and took some photos of the happy children. Yumi couldn't help but take pictures of their friends as well. Kikumaru and Momoshiro were still grinning widely, despite the nauseous feeling they were getting.

"This place is great Tezuka," said Fuji after taking a few snapshots of the group.

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about this place but I've never actually been here. It's too bad the others couldn't come along," said Oishi.

"But I'm glad none of Inui-senpai's drinks were able to come," said Ryoma.

"I second that!" said Momo.

"Thanks for inviting us, nya!" said Kikumaru.

"It's no problem," said Tezuka.

"Besides, it's fun having senpai-tachi and Ryoma-kun around. Okaa-san said we can enjoy it more when we're together," said Yumi.

"I agree, the more the merrier this trip will be. And when we get back we'll have a lot of stories to tell our other friends," said Fuji.

"Before we fully enjoy our vacation, let's not forget that we also have some homework to work on," said Ryoma.

"Mou, such a party pooper Ochibi. I was starting to forget about it," said Kikumaru.

"You're not supposed to forget about it Kikumaru-senpai," said Ryoma.

"What assignments do you have?" Tezuka asked Yumi.

"The journal for Language class, Math drills and the photography assignment for the club," said Yumi.

"We have the Photography club assignment covered then. We'll get more photos later on," said Fuji.

"You and Echizen should do your Math drills tonight to lessen the job," said Oishi.

"Oh, and we have to build a birdhouse for Art class," said Ryoma.

"Onii-chan, help me," Yumi begged as she hugged her brother's arm.

"Hai, hai, I will. I'll check your drills tonight then we'll make your birdhouse tomorrow while fishing," said Tezuka.

"Yay! Onii-chan is like a knight in shining armor!" said Yumi.

"Oddly, that idea fits buchou so well," said Momo.

"Yeah, I can just imagine Tezuka wearing a knight's armor while he's riding a horse, nya," said Kikumaru.

"Quit fooling around Eiji," said Oishi.

"Hey, let's get going now. You're mom's probably wondering where we are," said Fuji.

Ayana prepared some snacks for when they got back. There were some fresh juice and some sandwiches with fruit jam filling. There were some crepes too, with some ice cream, whipped cream and fruits for filling. Of course, the adults enjoyed some tea and cakes while enjoying the scenery in the garden. The younger ones were sitting on a mat laid down near the koi pond while they ate.

The dinner was prepared by the helpers in the summer house. Everyone wore the given yukatas as they sat down the traditional looking dining room together. Everyone couldn't resist the tasty food that was served to them and yummy looking dessert afterwards. Everything just complimented the whole meal itself.

* * *

"There! Mine's done!" said Yumi as she put down her hammer beside the toolbox they brought out with them.

"Mine's done too," said Ryoma.

"Aren't you two going to paint those?" asked Momo.

"Nope, it looks a lot better this way anyway," said Ryoma.

"We might just put some varnish on it when we get back to the summer house," said Yumi.

"Why don't you two clean up and put those back at the car compartment. We only need a few more fishes and then we'll get going," said Kunikazu.

"Hai, jii-chan," said Yumi.

The group went fishing with Kunikazu and Kuniharu the afternoon of the following day. Tezuka, Fuji and Oishi joined in with the two adults with their fishing. Eiji and Momo were relaxing nearby on a mat they brought, along with a few comic books and tennis magazines. And of course, the two youngest ones were left with the birdhouse they had to finish for their Art class.

"Oh, this one's pretty big. Do you want to reel it in, Yumi?" asked Kuniharu as he began reeling in the fish.

"I want to!" said Yumi as she stepped in near her father.

"Woah! That's huge! Dinner's going to be great!" said Momo as they began to clean up the other stuff they brought.

"All right, I'll put it in the bucket along with the other fishes," said Kuniharu.

_

* * *

Back at the summer house_

Preparing dinner was great for everyone. Instead of the helpers alone, the younger ones were able to help and prepare the dinner as well. They prepared sushi; sashimi, grilled fish and some other viands that Ayana decided to prepare to go along with the fish. Of course they also prepared some fresh drinks for dinner. Yumi prepared the after dinner tea while Ryoma, Momo and Kikumaru were the ones to prepare the juices and other drinks.

"This looks yummy!" said Yumi as they prepared the food in the backyard where they decided to eat dinner.

"The grilled fish is done and the barbecues will be going in next," said Ayana as she placed the skewered meat on top of the covered hot coals.

"That's great, nya!" said Kikumaru.

"Oh, by the way, Kunimitsu, your sister mentioned that you guys are going to attend the festival on Friday," said Ayana.

"Hai, Ayana-san, Yumi-chan won a jellpop lottery and got those free stuffs yesterday and an invite from the store owner to the festival," said Momo.

"You can all go if you want. I remember going there when I was younger, it's a lot of fun I tell you," said Kuniharu.

"I'll get you some souvenirs, otou-san. You, okaa-san and ojii-chan," said Yumi.

"I look forward to it," said Kuniharu.

"Maa, let's talk about that later. For now, let's just have some dinner," said Ayana.

* * *

Part one done~!! Weeeeh~! *dances-like-crazy* hihi.. I'm actually in the midst of editing the final part of my thesis, writing my resume, doing my midterm exam on my literature class, and researching for the next part so I have so many random stuff in my head. Oh and yes, Ysah-chan does research for materials to use for chapters. hihi *feels-proud* Oh, and by the way, what kind of festival games do you want Yumi and the others to try out when they go to the festival? You can tweet it to me or message me here in . Thanks again~! Read and Review my lovely readers~!!

* * *

**Ysah-chan's mini emoticon lessons~!!! (dun dun dun~!!!!)**

***o* - fish face ( i dunno why but it reminds me of a fish a lot)**

**=^_^=- smiling kitty**

(^o^)-*hohoho face

(*,^)- winky face

(OnO) hmpf! face

TTATT- super crying face~!

^///^- blushing face~!

okiies that's all for Ysah-chan's mini emoticon lessons~!! Hope you enjoyed it~!!


	12. Chapter 11b

Sorry for the late update my lovely readers~! I had a bit of trouble with this one but finally resolved it after a few changes in this chapter. I actually forgot that Yumi and Ryoma were first years lol..ahaha...but anyhoo, i fixed it and now here it is~! This is the second installment for the Summer Holidays series of Tezuka-buchou no Imouto. Summer is one of my favorite parts of the year because it is usually the only time of the year that my family is together. , (Ysah-chan is starting to get dramatic...haha..) Anyhoo... please follow me on twitter. I use the name **Ysahaya** there. And be sure to visit and follow my tumblr account http : / / ayaheartsyousomuch (dot) tumblr (dot) com..(just remove the spaces and replace the word 'dot' with actual dots)

Oh and just because I am currently dancing with utmost glee, I celebrated my 20th birthday last Saturday, March 6, and I got a lot of what I wanted to get for my special day. My new contact lenses that I will be using for my cosplaying ( I hope this is soon *keeps fingers crossed*) arrived at the exact day of my birthday. Two days later I got to buy a romance novel by Jennifer Lewis. I've been craving for a good read away from the computer for quite a while now and it made me so happy. And lastly, I got to watch Alice in Wonderland! I tell you, if you haven't watched it yet, it's a must see! Tim Burton is absolutely amazing! I might watch it again with friends, but anyhoo, that's it for my birthday update.

My heartfelt thanks to the following people:

**invisible-gurl**..lolz yeah i know she's soooo cute..i just imagine her all cute and cuddly..hahahalovelyanimeangel..read this one~! they'll meet someone from the two teams you mentioned hehehe

**falling-angel99**- I actually mentioned my profile in my resume and guess what? they actually asked me loads about it. , I dunno if i'll get the job i applied for but anyhoo..haha

..thanks for reading! I was sooooo inspired with your review. Of course all of you actually inspire me haha..anyhoo, thank you very much! Yumi is really a special character to me. I wish to draw her picture soon. I'll post a link if ever i get that chance.

**kim-chan-sempai**... (^,^) she's here but i was too bored to write about her. lol..anyhoo..the next installment of the summer holidays series of t-bni (tezuka-buchou no imouto) will surely have her presence 23..you're most welcome~! Thanks for reading and reviewing!vivvy09..your waiting is over~!! Chapter 11-b is here!!!

**EdxWinry6789**..thanks~! I'm trying to make this story as lively as I can. Oh and by the way, I 3 Ed and Winry too!!!

**I heart MANGA and ANIME**..started reading and can't stop reading is great~! (^,^)// - says hurray...thanks for reviewing~!!

**Shadow Mistress-of death**.. (^///^) -shy face haha..thank you~!

**d00fus**- your wasabi flavoured shaved ice inspired me~! Let all weirdness by Fuji be celebrated! hehe..I 3 Fuji~!

**diaaan**- thanks for reviewing and please continue supporting T-bni~!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, otherwise known as Tenisu No Oujisama. Other characters not originating from the said anime/manga is considered a property of Ysah-chan_

* * *

Chapter 11-b

Summer Holiday Part 2

* * *

"Have fun at the festival kids," said Ayana as she gave Tezuka the sibling's pocket money.

"Arigatou, kaa-sama. We'll be home later," said Tezuka.

"Take as much time as you want, but don't forget to take care about your sister," said Kuniharu.

"Yes, don't have too much fun that you'll forget all about your sister's well being," said Kunikazu.

"Oh, don't worry too much about it. Kunimitsu is the most responsible young adult I've ever met and I'm sure he won't neglect Yumi. Besides, Oishi-kun and Fuji-kun are there to assist him," said Ayana.

"Mou, Ayana-san, you forgot about us, nya" said Kikumaru as he pointed to himself and Momo.

"Ah, but you might get too happy with the games that you'd forget about Yumi. Please keep an eye out for Yumi and Ryoma-kun though," said Ayana.

"We'll be off now," said Tezuka.

"Ittekimasu!" said Yumi as they began walking out of the summer house.

* * *

The festival was full of people everywhere and there were lots of booths around the shrine as well. They didn't waste any more time just staring at the crowd. Kikumaru and Momoshiro were the ones to lead the group to look around the festival; they tried out some of the festival games there as well.

"Oh look, there's a horror booth!" Fuji pointed after they got their prizes from the shooting game.

"Let's check it out," said Ryoma.

"We still want to go and play some more games. Why don't you go and try it out?" said Momoshiro.

"Take Yumi-chan with you, Echizen," said Oishi.

"How about you, Fuji-senpai? Are you coming with us?" asked Yumi.

"No, I wanna go and check out that wasabi flavored ice cream I saw earlier," said Fuji.

Everybody cringed at what they heard. Of all the things a perfect looking guy like Fuji would have, it just had to be a weird attraction to anything that tasted horrible. His taste in food in so different that he's the only person in the tennis club that could stand any of Inui's horrid concoctions.

"All right, let's go then," said Ryoma.

"We'll be back in a bit, onii-chan," said Yumi.

The two walked ahead and went to the general direction of the horror booth. They didn't notice that there were two familiar individuals walking in the same direction they were going to. They only saw who the two were when they met at the ticket booth of the horror booth. Of course, Yumi and Ryoma were both surprised to see them there, but the weird thing was, the two seemed pretty calm about it. They didn't even seem like they didn't expect to see the two there.

"Oh, Ryoma-sama! This is so unexpected! We never thought we'd see you here; you too Yumi-chan," said Osakada.

"Same here, we didn't expect to see you here as well, Osakada-san, Ryuuzaki-san," said Yumi.

"We just decided to take a short trip here. We didn't know you were here. We should totally hang out while we're here," said Ryuuzaki.

"Are you two going in as well?" asked Osakada.

"Ahm, yeah, we were just checking it out, ne Ryoma-kun?" said Yumi.

"Hn. Let's go," said Ryoma as he walked towards the ticket booth.

The two girls bought their tickets as well; they walked next to Yumi and Ryoma as they entered the dark colored tent of the horror booth. Sakuno insisted on walking closely next to Ryoma, who had Yumi walking beside him to his left (Okay, that confused me XD oh well, I hope you get the point). The red head took every chance she had every time a scary creature came out to scare them off. She'd scream and then cling tightly to Ryoma's right arm.

"This is so scary!" said Osakada as she walked beside Sakuno.

"If you were scared of stuff like this then you shouldn't have come in here," said Ryoma.

"Mou, Ryoma-kun, it's the first time we spend time like this. Don't be so mean," said Sakuno.\

"I'm not being mean to you; just telling the truth," Ryoma muttered.

"But it's so nice to be spending some time with Ryoma-kun during the summer vacation. We should meet up tomorrow so we can spend even more time," said Sakuno.

"We have plans set out for tomorrow," said Ryoma.

"How about another day then?" asked Osakada.

"We pretty much, have the whole vacation planned out. My parents and my older brother planned it ahead of time,. They like getting things straightened out to avoid any trouble along the way," Yumi explained as they walked through another flap in the tent.

"That's a bummer. It's like you and your family are hogging Ryoma-kun all to yourselves," said Sakuno as she followed the two who walked ahead.

"Not really. It says we have to climb up here," said Yumi as she pointed out to a fence-like thing in the path; all the while ignoring what Sakuno just said..

"Come here," said Ryoma as he offered his hand before he let Yumi pass the fence.

Thinking that the young teen would do the same for her, Sakuno waited for Ryoma to offer his hand to her so she could cross the fence. The offer didn't come though. After he and Yumi passed the fence, they continued walking ahead, leaving behind Osakada and Sakuno who had trouble crossing the fence because of what they were wearing. They had to remind themselves never to wear short dresses whenever going to festivals, walking around was definitely hard, but crossing the fence was even harder.

"Why didn't you help them?" Yumi muttered as they walked ahead.

"Nah, they'll live without me," said Ryoma as they looked at the random scary stuff in the horror booth..

"Ryuuzaki-san seems so happy just clinging to you earlier," said Yumi.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Ryoma teased.

"I am not. Why would I be? I'm not even your girl friend, although, Ryuuzaki-san seems a bit pissed though,," said Yumi.

"Oh, so if you were my girl friend you would be jealous?" asked Ryoma, causing the girl to blush. If it weren't for the dim lighting the booth, he would've noticed how red her face looked.

"Stop putting words into my mouth," said Yumi as they walked further.

Ryoma smirked at this and continued walking beside her. Their quiet time was disrupted however, by a high pitched scream. It alarmed Ryoma when he heard it and when he checked, Yumi was frozen on the spot, covering her face with her hands.

"Yumi! Are you okay?" said Ryoma.

"No, make it go away," said Yumi as she inched away from what she saw and closer to Ryoma.

"Relax. It's not real," said Ryoma as she pulled her closer and pulled her hands down.

Yumi cringed when she saw the face of the werewolf statue again and automatically hid her face at the crook of Ryoma's neck. It was her impulse to do so. It was her immediate reaction to the situation they were into.

"It's fine. It's not real Yumi," said Ryoma as he soothed the back of her head with his hand.

"Let's go," said Yumi as she moved for a bit, but still turned her head away from the statue's general direction.

Yumi looked up to see Ryoma looking at the werewolf statue. His criticizing gaze slowly moved until he looked at her eye-to-eye. They were almost of the same height, if not for the few inches Ryoma grew out because of Inui's milk diet program. But that wasn't what they had in mind during that moment that they stared at each other. If there were thought bubbles to pop out of their heads, one would say s_'His eyes are beautiful'_ while the other would say _'She's the most beautiful creature I've ever met.'_ But the lines were too cheesy and eventually, they grew conscious of their sudden solitude and awkwardly turned away. Ryoma stirred Yumi away from the direction of the werewolf statue and headed to the nearest exit he saw. The thought of the two other companions they had earlier slipped their minds as they walked back to their lively group near the water balloon hooking game.

"Oh, you're back! How was the booth nya?" asked Kikumaru.

"It was great but I got too scared when I saw the werewolf statue," said Yumi.

"Yeah, we had to find the nearest exit afterwards," said Ryoma.

"That's too bad. Anyway, let's play some of this. Do you want to get one Yumi-chan?" asked Momoshiro.

"I want to try and get the red one," said Yumi as the all kneeled down the covered floor near the mini pool where the water balloons soaked in water.

After paying for the fee, Yumi tried to get the balloon she wanted. But the hook was much too hard to manipulate and her two trials were wasted. In the end she still couldn't get the red water balloon she wanted.

"Why don't you try and get it for Yumi-chan, Eiji." Oishi suggested kindly.

"Mou, I'm bad at this game. It's like that catch the gold fish game with the paper scooper that always got holes whenever you try to catch the cute fishies," said Kikumaru.

"I'm not so good with this one too. It'll take me an hour to get one and that'll cost too much," said Momo.

"How about you Fuji?" asked Oishi.

"I'm not so good with this one too. I prefer the shooting games," said Fuji.

"I'll try it out," said Ryoma.

"Oji-san, here's for another try on this game. My friend will try this time," said Tezuka as he handed the payment.

"Here's your hooks then" said the old man as he handed Ryoma three hooks.

Ryoma aimed for the red water balloon and although the first two trials failed, the last one served to be the luckiest because he got the water balloon that Yumi wanted. He took the balloon, wiped it with the wash cloth the old man handed him and then gave it to his smiling friend. Yumi was all too happy to accept the balloon, although a bit shy since she recalled what happened in the horror booth.

"Thank you," said Yumi with an endearing smile.

"Usu," said Ryoma as they all walked towards another booth.

"Oh, there's some takoyaki over there. Let's go buy some, Oishi!" said Kikumaru.

"Do you want to go and buy some, Yumi?" asked Tezuka.

"No, I'm fine, nii-chan. But I'd surely love to have something to drink. Do you think they have some lemonade?" asked Yumi.

"I'll go and buy some for you , Yumi-chan," said Oishi.

"Arigatou, senpai," said Yumi.

"How about you, Ochibi? Do you want anything?" asked Kikumaru.

"Ponta," said Ryoma.

"If you don't tone down your Ponta intake you'll put your own health at risk, Echizen," said Oishi.

"This is the first time I'm drinking again after days of being here, senpai," said Ryoma.

"That's good then," said Fuji.

"We'll buy the food and drinks. You guys wait there at the bench," said Oishi as he pointed at the bench Momo was resting on.

They walked back to where Momo sat and rested. It was almost ten in the evening and they've already got so many prizes and they've already visited so many booths. The last thing they were waiting for of course was the fireworks display. The shrine attendants announced that they'd set off some fireworks at exactly ten in the evening. They've been waiting for that show the whole night.

"Oh, by the way, I think I saw some of our tennis rivals around earlier," said Momo as they rested.

"Really? Who did you see?" asked Fuji.

"I saw Sanada-san and Yukimura-san from Rikkaidai taking a look around," said Momo.

"We'll probably bump into them later," said Fuji.

"Who are they?" asked Ryoma.

"Those two are from another Junior High,"said Momo.

"We'll probably meet them in the tournaments this year. Your brother knows them quite well because of the games they played in the past," Fuji explained.

After buying their food and drinks, they all went to find a perfect spot to watch the fireworks. They chose a spot near the shrine's garden and sat down on the grass. Yumi and Fuji took some pictures of the fireworks and of their companions; they also took turns taking photos of each other with them. After the fireworks, they decided to play one last shooting game before heading back to the summer house.

"Aww, that bunny plushie looks so cute!" Yumi exclaimed as Momo and Ryoma got ready to shoot.

"Do you want that one, Yumi-chan?" asked Momo.

"Will you get it for me, Momo-senpai?" said Yumi excitedly.

"Of course, Mom-niichan will get it for you," said Momo as he aimed and shot the bunny down.

"Here's your prize sir," said the stall owner.

"Here you go, Yumi-chan," said Momo.

"Thank you, senpai!" said Yumi as she hugged her new plushie.

"You're good at aiming, ne bouya," said the stall owner.

"Bouya?" Ryoma muttered as he got his third prize, a mini teddy bear, and handed it to Yumi who accepted it right away with a grin.

"He has good eyes," said Fuji as he took photos of Momo and Ryoma.

"I could say so. He's already getting his fourth prize," said a familiar voice.

When they turned to look, they found Sanada and Yukimura of Rikkaidai standing behind them. The two were wearing their traditional yukatas. The Seigaku students all smiled and welcomed the two who joined their group.

"I've heard about the new freshman regular before but not this cute one. So, who's this young lady?" asked Yukimura as he bent to get into Yumi's level.

"This is Yumi-chan, Tezuka-buchou's younger sister. Yumi-chan this is Yukimura Seiichi-san and Sanada Genichirou-san of Rikkaidai," said Eiji.

"Yoroshikuu onegaishimasu," said Yumi as she bowed.

"How cute, hello there, Yumi-chan," said Yukimura.

"They're the captain and vice-captain of the Rikkaidai tennis club," said Fuji.

"Yumi-chan is our team manager," said Momo.

"Then we'll probably see you in the future tournaments. Genichirou, give Yumi some of those sweets we won in the game earlier," said Yukimura.

"Here, we won it after playing the throwing game," said Sanada as he handed a small plastic bag of sweets.

"Thank you very much. Would you like to join us tomorrow? We're going to the recreation center our aunt owns to play some tennis," Yumi smiled.

"We'd love to have you there with us. Yumi wants to learn a bit more about tennis to help with her duties," said Tezuka.

"Sure," said Sanada.

"I look forward to it," said Yukimura.

"All right then, Yukimura-san, Sanada-san, we'll meet near the train station, it's near recreation center," said Oishi.

"We'll see you then," said Yukimura as they waved goodbye.

* * *

The following morning, they all set out to go to the recreation center. The meeting time with Yukimura and Sanada was set at around ten in the morning and since Tezuka was always prompt, they all left the summer house thirty minutes earlier than expected. They had enough time to eat the delicious English breakfast Ayana made though. Yumi took the liberty of eating some of the wonderful scones and the apple pie her mother prepared.

"Yumi-chan likes English breakfast a lot nya," said Kikumaru as they were all waiting in the limousine.

"Eriol-niisan always cooked the breakfast during three-day visit last month and I loved it," Yumi grinned.

"Jackson's earl gray tea became her favorite too," said Tezuka.

"Yumi-chan loves all sorts of tea though. Have you studied the tea ceremony before, Yumi-chan?" asked Fuji.

"Yes, I have," said Yumi.

"By the way, your mother said to invite Yukimura-san and Sanada-san over later for afternoon tea. There seems to be a program later at your house," said Oishi.

"Our grandfather wants usually sets a date during summer for when our cousins and other relatives come over to spend time together," said Tezuka.

"We'll be playing instruments later," said Yumi.

"Eh, hontou? Have you practiced enough then, Yumi-chan?" asked Momo.

"You don't hear me practice don't you? I have an upright piano in the room I'm staying in. Onii-chan also practices there," said Yumi.

"Well I look forward to your playing then. Will you be playing the piano later?" said Fuji.

"I'm playing the piano and the violin later. Eriol-niisan's coming later so he'll be accompanying me while I play the violin," said Yumi.

* * *

Playing tennis with the best tennis players in Junior High proved to be one of the best experiences for Yumi. The feeling of excitement remained after that simple match she had with Oishi after getting her first tennis lessons from all of her, now dubbed, onii-san tachi. Even Sanada was very open to share pointers to her since it's her first time. Of course, of all the people who helped her, his onii-chan was the one who gave his full support and full attention to this new experience of hers.

They were now watching Fuji and Kikumaru play a match against each other. Momoshiro was doing the umpiring while the rest watched them happily at the benches. Fuji was leading but Kikumaru didn't seem fazed by it at all. Yumi enjoyed looking at her cat-like senpai who did fantastic flips to reach a particularly hard return Fuji sent him.

"You did well for your first match, Yumi-chan," said Yukimura as she handed the younger teen a bottle of water.

"Arigatou. I never knew it was this much fun. If I had known earlier I would've asked onii-chan to teach me right away," said Yumi.

"Being Tezuka-kun's youngest sister, I thought you also played tennis. I guess it's a common misconception for people in the Junior high tennis circle," said Yukimura.

"Ah, but Fuji-kun's brother plays tennis quite well too. He goes to St. Rudolph Academy, if I recall correctly," said Sanada.

"Yes, Yuuta-kun stays in a dormitory near the school. But he often visits Fuji and their family from time to time," said Oishi.

"Eh, Momo-niichan said Fuji-niichan's younger brother stays in the dorms because of Fuji-niichan's mollycoddling," said Yumi, wondering whether Momo was telling the truth or not.

"That's part of the reason. Fuji-senpai's pretty attached to his younger brother," said Ryoma.

"Much like you and your brother, although, Tezuka seems to be the one spoiling you more. Good thing Yumi-chan is a good girl," said Oishi.

"You don't know the half of it," said Tezuka.

"Eh? Really? Why do you say so, Tezuka?" asked Oishi.

"You don't really see the mischievous and jealous side of Yumi yet," said Tezuka.

"Ah, that's true. She always gets a wee bit pissed whenever fan girls come over during practice and gives me stuff," said Ryoma.

"Yeah right, don't tell me you don't enjoy having Ryuuzaki-chan's bentou though. You look really pleased with all those rice balls she kept stuffing you," said Yumi.

"And you tell you don't get jealous over her," Ryoma chided.

"This is the first time I've actually seen Echizen-kun enjoying an argument," said Yukimura.

"They're very close friends but they tend to fight like a cat and dog sometimes," said Oishi.

"Yeah and I always win because she has a dog phobia," said Ryoma as he faked an evil laugh.

"Mou, you're unfair. I won't share my bentou with you tomorrow," said Yumi as she stuck her tongue out.

"Yumi," said Tezuka to call her attention.

"Hai," said Yumi as she leaned on the bench.

After the match, they all decided to get changed in the locker rooms and head back to the summer house. Tezuka called his mother to call the limousine back, when she heard that the two other tennis players were renting a twin room at a nearby vacation house, Ayana kindly offered to have them over as well. They were going to tour around Karuizawa anyway, why not add two more to their very active group. Sanada and Yukimura were reluctant at first, but said yes upon Yumi and Tezuka's insistence. When the limousine came by, they went to the vacation house to fetch their belongings.

* * *

"Thank you for inviting us over," Sanada said politely.

"It's no problem at all. All of Kunimitsu's friends are welcome to stay with us," said Kuniharu as they went to the garden.

"How was your lunch? Did you all eat well?" Ayana asked all of them, so as to cover the fact that she was checking on Yumi.

"We ate at your Italian restaurant, Ayana-san! It was great! The pasta was so tasty, nya!" said Kikumaru.

"We never knew you also ventured into Italian restaurants, Kuniharu-san," said Fuji.

"Ah, one of the projects I've been working on. I particularly like European food, of course Japanese cooking is still the best, but one can't avoid loving the flavors from Europe," Kuniharu explained.

"The food was wonderful," said Yukimura.

"That's very good to hear then. How about you, little girl? Did you eat lunch well?" said Kuniharu as he took his daughter's hand in his.

"Yes, otou-san. The food was great and the waiters were very accommodating," said Yumi.

"That's good then," said Kuniharu.

"Where's Ojii-san?" asked Yumi.

"He's resting. A few of his former colleagues in the Police department came by and they played Shogi," said Ayana.

After the afternoon tea, Yukimura and Sanada settled in twin room that they were given. The room had two beds and two separate cabinets, just like the other rooms. They unpacked and rested for a bit before heading to the others' rooms for a chat. The gathering would start at 7 in the evening and since it was only 4 in the afternoon, they decided to relax for a bit to let their tennis honed bodies rest before the night's festivities.

"Eto, Yumi-chan's not here, nya. Is she still in her room?" asked Kikumaru.

"She's probably practicing before she comes over," said Fuji.

"Or she could still be pissed with Echizen-kun," said Yukimura, who sat comfortably on Tezuka's bed.

They were all gathering in Oishi and Tezuka's room. The cool breeze from the air-conditioner helped a lot since they all wanted to rest. Though, they all didn't want to sleep either.

"Mou, Ochibi, you always make fun of Yumi-chan that's why she gets angry with you," said Kikumaru.

"I didn't mean to make her angry," said Ryoma.

"You should go and call her, Echizen. She's probably still in her room," said Momoshiro.

"Should I go and call her, buchou?" asked Ryoma.

"Hn," said Tezuka.

Of course the slight hint of hesitance was just a fake because Ryoma actually wanted to know if his friend was angry with him. During the past few months they've been together as classmates and as best friends, he gradually felt at ease with her and he knew that if there's anyone who could understand him better, Yumi would be that person. Of course, his senpai-tachi were another story, but for their age group, Yumi was the closest to him. Even the Ichinen trio wasn't so close to him before, maybe the fact that they had a blabber mouth (a.k.a. Horio Satoshi) in their group was that factor that made him want to avoid getting too close to them.

_ *knock, knock, knock*_

"Yumi, are you angry?" he asked through the door.

He knocked again.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything. You know I won't do anything to hurt you right?" said Ryoma.

"Hn," he heard a small answer.

"Okay, I'll make it up to you," said Ryoma.

"How?" she asked, through the door.

"I'll buy your favorite strawberry and banana parfait later if you want," said Ryoma.

"Won't you get bankrupted?" asked Yumi.

"Not unless you plan to tell me you want me to buy some for Momo-senpai as well," said Ryoma.

"Nah, I won't," said Yumi as she opened the door.

"Do I get a smile now?" asked Ryoma as she stepped out of the room.

"Yep," she smiled brightly as they walked towards Tezuka and Oishi's room.

The rest were already chatting about something that happened during a particular tournament when the two came in. They sat down beside Kikumaru and Momoshiro who were sitting on the soft carpeted floor of the room while munching on some chips that Kikumaru brought for the trip. Ryoma and Momo instantly fought over a piece of chip that was a bit bigger than the rest.

"Momo-senpai should give way to the younger," said Ryoma as he tried to keep the chip away from Momo.

"No way would I do that if the younger person is you!" said Momo as he struggled to get a hold of the chip.

"Stop it you two!" said Oishi as he scolded them.

"Anyway, Tezuka, are you going to play tonight as well?" asked Fuji.

"Yes, especially since its ojii-sama's request. He rarely asks us for anything so we try to give our best for him whenever we can," said Tezuka.

"What piece are you playing Yumi-chan?" asked Oishi.

"Frederick Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu for piano then I'll play Canon with Eriol-niisan," said Yumi.

"Those are good pieces. I look forward to it," said Sanada.

"Thank you, although I'm getting nervous now," said Yumi.

"Don't worry about it. I know you'll do well," said Fuji, who always seem to be encouraging Yumi with everything she tries.

They played games while they continued to chat as well. The other were playing with cards while the others were playing board games. Of course, Kikumaru and Momoshiro went on with eating the chips they brought. Yumi and Ryoma played a board game called Snake and Ladder with the two who were eating. Kikumaru was failing miserably in the game because the snake keeps on eating his piece.

"Mou, I'm no good with this game," said Kikumaru as they finally finished the game.

"What other games do you have here, buchou?" asked Momoshiro.

"There are some card games and a few more board games over here," said Tezuka.

"Ah, I brought my PSP with me, senpai," said Ryoma.

"PSP? That new one your cousin bought you last month because we won in the district tournament?" said Momo.

"Eh? Hontou desu ka? Your cousin really bought one for you. She's so sweet, nya," said Kikumaru.

"Okaa-san bought the games though," said Ryoma.

"Have you tried playing with it before?" asked Momo.

"Yeah, I already brought it to school a few times. Yumi even played with it," said Ryoma.

"Mou, Ochibi, I wanna try too," Kikumaru begged.

"I'll go get it from our room," said Ryoma as he motioned to stand up.

"Get the Final Fantasy thirteen. Momo-senpai said he hasn't tried it yet," said Yumi.

"I'll bring the whole pack," said Ryoma.

* * *

At around six in the evening they started to prepare for the night's gathering. Ayana mentioned that it would only be a casual gathering so they followed what attire they all needed to wear. Of course it was different in Yumi's case. Her mother always got her ready for things like this, may it be simple or extravagant, Yumi always had her mother there who willingly helps her.

The gathering is like a simple family reunion for the whole Tezuka clan. They come over to the summer house to enjoy music, food and each others' presence. Kunikazu usually set things up like this for special occasions but summer was always something everyone loved in their family, ergo the summer family gathering. One thing they also love during summer is listening to music. Although Kunikazu is not highly gifted with any musical talent he still enjoys music and takes pride that most of his grandchildren are amazing musicians.

"Are you guys ready?" asked Yumi as she popped her head inside her brother's room.

"Yup, we were just waiting for you," said Fuji, who was sitting on Oishi's bed.

"Is that the dress otou-san bought for you last time?" asked Tezuka as he looked at his sister.

"Yup, Okaa-san said I should wear it today," said Yumi.

"Well it certainly looks cute on you, Yumi-chan," said Oishi.

"Thank you, Oishi-niichan," said Yumi.

"Shall we get going? They're probably waiting downstairs by now," said Tezuka.

The garden was set up for the gathering. There were lights to illuminate the whole place and tables and chairs for them to sit on. The magnificent looking grand piano from the main living room was placed atop a stage-like platform at the middle of the garden. A buffet table was also arranged strategically to the side close to the tables.

When they got downstairs, they saw all of the clan members who were already catching up on each other. Others were still on the foyer with Ayana as she welcomed them in. One particular person Yumi was looking forward to seeing that night was her Eriol-niisan who came in with his mother and father.

"Eriol-niisan!" said Yumi as she hurriedly climbed down the stairs to meet her cousin.

"Ah, the little princess is here," said Eriol as he welcomed the hug she gave him.

"Obaa-sama and ojii-sama, okaerinasai," said Yumi as she bowed to her aunt and uncle.

"It's nice to see you again, Yumi-chan," said James, Eriol's father.

"You too, _Uncle James_," said Yumi as she tried calling him in English.

"Of course, I'm glad to see my favorite niece again. I brought you something from Britain. I hope you like it," said Kuniko, Eriol's mother.

"Me too, Kuniko-baasama. You should come and visit again soon," said Yumi.

"We'll try to, my dear, but you know how busy we can all get during certain times of the year," said Kuniko.

"Yes, but we've already decided though, that this Christmas, we'll be spending it with you and your family," said James, in fluent Japanese. With his authentic British looks, you'd never think he spoke fluent Japanese.

"That's wonderful, James-niisan. Oh, by the way, these are Yumi and Kunimitsu's friends from school. We've invited them over since it is summer vacation," said Ayana.

"Konbanwa," the group said in chorus.

"You're all tennis players, right?" asked Eriol.

"Hai, we're from Seigaku and these two are from Rikkaidai," said Oishi.

"Let me introduce them to you. This is, Oishi Shuichiro, Fuji Syuusuke, Echizen Ryoma, Kikumaru Eiji, Momoshiro Takeshi, Sanada Genichirou and Yukimura Seiichi," said Tezuka.

"You have a set of very good looking friends, Kunimitsu," said Kuniko.

"Very true, the helper's daughter seem to get a bit clumsy whenever she sees these beautiful boys," said Ayana.

"Shall we head outside now, okaa-sama?" asked Tezuka.

"Yes, let's go," said Ayana.

* * *

Done! For this chapter at least. hehe ^_^ Please look forward to reading the next installment of the Summer Holidays series of my beloved story, Tezuka-buchou no Imouto. Updates about the story status will be posted on my twitter account as well as my facebook account. If you haven't followed/added me yet, you might want to visit my profile page for all the links for all my accounts. Oh and I hope you like Eriol's mom's name. I wanted to make it close to the Tezuka family's tradition of naming their children. They have another sister, who'll likely be coming up in the next chapter. Send me suggestions, comments and reviews please~! I need more ideas to make the next chapter even more exciting hehehe...

**

* * *

Ysah-chan's mini emoticon lessons~!!! (dun dun dun~!!!!)**

|-OO-| two skateboarding boys collide ~ I lolled at this haha

(OwO) ~ freaky Kelvin face (Kelvin is my best guy friend who always makes funny faces whenever he reacts to something)

(^pq^) ~ giggling while covering mouth

8 - sad face without nose hahaha

(n) ~ upset witjoo face

okiies that's all for Ysah-chan's mini emoticon lessons~!! Hope you enjoyed it~!!

I'm running out of emoticons , I'll think of a new thing to do here haha 8D


	13. Chapter 11c

Oh hai there everybody! Sorry for the super late update. My laziness has been recharged and graduation took a toll on my brain haha. Anyhooo~! I'd like to share a few happenings in my life before proceeding to meh story. If you don't like you could always scroll down using that scroll-me-down-thingy over there =

Okay, so I've been busy with the end of the semester and the end of my college/university life. Huzzah! I finally graduated!! Not that I'm bragging or anything but I actually got two awards prior to graduation. ^///^ *blushes* First award is what I'm most proud of, my group got the Best Thesis award for the Education program. We worked so hard for it, hence the super overflowing happiness when we got our medals. (oooh btw, the title of our thesis is _The Level of Environmental Awareness of Education Students in Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba_). The second award is very unexpected actually, I got an Academic Excellence award for garnering a certain average in four years which I am not aware of. Haha. I know; total fail for not knowing my own General Weighted Average. haha. Anyway, thank you for being dears and being so patient with my very slow updates. I've finally harvested the fruits of my labor. haha.

Anyways, special thanks to those who read and reviewed Chapter 11-b of this story. I assure you that this chapter will be longer than the last one. (so keep a soda and chips/popcorn with you XP) But I do hope this chapter wouldn't bore you. Please excuse the grammatical errors, mistyped words, and wrong spelling/s because I'm always half asleep whenever I get ideas for this story. Anyhoo..My heartfelt appreciation to the following people who took the time to review my work.

**Mewmewlover23-**Here it is! Sorry it was so late. I had tons of stuff to do prior and after graduation. Enjoy!

**EdxWinry6789-**Here's the update! So sorry for the late update.

**kim-chan-sempai-** I 3 jooo tooo~!!! (Ooooh sounds so gay when it comes from me haha) yes the title is so long that I tend to just say 't-bni' to shorten it most of the time hehe. God Bless in college. If you need any help you can ask from me. I'm going to be working as a teacher and I'd love to help people out. Send me a PM if you need any help from me hehe.

**lovelyanimeangel-**ooooh yesh I cosplay and I'm missing the cosplay scene so much right now. Being too deprived of cosplay is scary when it happens to Ysah-chan , I wasn't able to go to teh con I wanted to attend ;A; *FAILS IN LIFE* I'm planning on going as a White Mage next time n_n

**invisible-gurl**-here's my update! hihi. Yes and for this chapter I enjoyed the naming tradition thing haha. I dunno if I went overboard with it though haha. But I love the character's names here!

**denizen of the night-**I happen to be a music lover, photography addict, art freak and all the other weird hobby addict ahahaha so you'd see some of my hobbies associated here. The piece Yumi will play is a favorite of mine. Check it out on YouTube (= not mine okies? whoever owns youtube owns youtube...just a disclaimer ^_^) it's by Frederick Chopin, Fantasie Impromptu.

**Disclaimer:** _Tenisu no Oujisama _otherwise known as Prince of Tennis is the property of whoever owns/made it. I am only a fanfiction writer ergo, I don't own any of it. Other characters mentioned in this fic, unless disclaimed by authoress, is owned by teh one and only weirdo of all time **Ysah-chan**.

Oh and by the way, we have a guessing game this time around! **Who are Ysah-chan's favorite non-Prince of Tennis characters that are present in this fic?** Clue: I just changed their last names but you'd probably know who they are anyway hihihi ^pq^

* * *

Chapter 11-c

Summer Holidays

* * *

Tezuka Kunikazu and his late wife had three children, two girls and an only son, Kuniharu. The eldest of the three was named Kunimiki from the Japanese word _Miki _or beautiful Chronicle. The second child was named Kuniko, sometimes called Nikko by their mother, whose name came from the Japanese word _Nikko _or sunshine. And of course the youngest was Kuniharu whose name came from _Haru _or spring.

The three siblings were very different from each other. Kunimiki had the sternness of their father yet had that loving aura of their mother. Kuniko on the other hand was more of a balancer for the two other siblings she had. Like her name, Kuniko always brought sunshine in their family. Kuniharu, though youngest and the only male of the three, took more after his mother. His looks definitely come from Kunikazu but his kindness towards others was generally from his mother, who was a very loving person. But although these three were different, they grew very close to each other and very attached to their parents as well. It was very difficult for the three to accept it when their mother passes away, a few years after Kuniharu's first son was born.

Although Kunimiki and Kuniko were much older than their brother, the two came to an understanding that their youngest sibling would be the one to succeed their father's place in the company. Of course, they did not abandon their place in the Tezuka family. They each took part in making their companies grow more successful by giving their best in all of the tasks they faced. The first few years working were quite difficult but eventually the three siblings were able to establish the best companies, not only in Japan but all over the world. Kuniharu worked on their main headquarters in Japan, while Kuniko; along with her only son Eriol and her husband James Radcliffe, worked on the European branches of their companies. Kunimiki, being the more traditionalist Tezuka family member, handled the establishments they've branched out in parts of Asia.

The three siblings have always been working hard together, but they've grown lonesome without the companionship of their beloved siblings. The summer holidays in Japan were always something to look forward to. During this time of the year, the siblings get together, along with other relatives, friends, and of course their beloved father, to celebrate another years worth of success and to enjoy time together with music and chit-chat.

* * *

"Thank you for the dates (A/N: it's a fruit found in the middle east. if you haven't tasted it it's actually pretty good. It doesn't need any artificial sweetening and it's so good to match with tea..., or at least for me it is) you've sent last time Miki-neesama. They were very tasty," said Kuniharu.

"Ah, you're welcome. My husband bought them during his business trip to Riyadh last time. Of course, I would've sent some to Nikko-chan but I was afraid they wouldn't taste as good," said Kunimiki.

"It's all right Onee-sama. Eriol has been receiving so many gifts from his admirers that even we have problems keeping sweets out of the house," said Kuniko.

"That explains the weight gain James-niisama was complaining about. He keeps insist it was yours and Eriol's fault," said Ayana.

"Ah, but it wasn't my fault he could stay away from those freshly baked blueberry muffins," said Kuniko.

"Yumi-chan would be the happiest if she received those. She seems to have acquired a soft spot for pastries after Kuniko-neesama and Eriol-kun visited last time," said Ayana.

"Ah, that little darling looked so cute while she was eating those homemade scones Eriol prepared," said Kuniko.

"I must admit, Yumi-chan and Kunimitsu-kun looks so much alike. If it weren't for the real situation, I would've thought otherwise about it," said Kunimiki.

"Yes, I know. What drew us closer was that she's so much like okaa-sama in so many ways. Even otou-sama says so and he spends some time with her every day," said Kuniharu.

"Even Yumi-chan looks forward to it. After getting home and eating dinner, she'd go and play chess or shogi with her grandpa and enjoy it," said Ayana.

"That's so cute! I'm sure Eriol-kun's fiancée would be really attached to her. She loves seeing cute girls," said Kuniko.

* * *

While the three siblings and Ayana were talking, the younger teens, along with Eriol and James were enjoying stories from Kunikazu and some of his old police buddies. The other two were much older than Kunikazu and they told stories about the wars they've been to and about the criminals they've caught. But alas, being old as they were, the two had to retire early and they were fetched by their children from the neighboring summerhouses. What came next was Kunikazu's favorite part of the evening, his mini music festival. But seeing that his younger companions were a bit famished, he decided on postponing it for a bit to have some dinner first.

"Eriol-niisan are you waiting for somebody?" asked Yumi as they were eating dinner.

"Yes, my fiancée is coming tonight. She just stopped by a friends' summerhouse to pay her a visit," said Eriol.

"By the way, Miki-chan, how come your children and your husband aren't around?" asked Kunikazu.

"My husband is still overseas trying to finish some work, father. Your grandchildren, however, are currently enjoying their unusual on-location research for their college class," said Kunimiki.

"It's too bad Aki and Aoi aren't here. Yumi-chan, you should see your cousins play the Cello and the Violin. They're quite a duet. They've competed overseas as well you know," said Kunikazu.

"Wow, I'd love to hear them play," said Yumi.

"We'll visit you soon after the summer holidays. I'm sure they look forward to seeing you," said Kunimiki.

"Kikumaru-kun seems to be enjoying the steak," said Ayana.

"Hai, hai, these all taste wonderful," said Kikumaru.

"Be sure to try some of the other food here," said Kuniharu.

"It's too bad, Kaidoh, Inui and Taka-san couldn't make it. It would've been nice if they were here as well," said Oishi.

"We could always invite you guys again next time," said Kuniharu.

"By the way, Fuji-kun I heard you also play the violin, correct?" asked Kunikazu.

"Ah, that's right. My family's quite a fan of music as well and they've sent all three of siblings to music classes when we were younger. I seem to be the only one who's still interested though," said Fuji.

"I'd love to hear you play. Would you allow an old man's request?" asked Kunikazu.

"I guess I could play a bit. How about playing a trio with Yumi-chan and Eriol-san later?" asked Fuji.

"A wonderful suggestion!" said Kunikazu.

"Otou-sama really loves music," said James.

"It's so much like Echizen loving tennis. Although, for Echizen, it's become more of an addiction than an interest," said Momoshiro.

"Hoi hoi, Ochibi's so engrossed with tennis so much sometimes," said Kikumaru.

"At least I don't eat like a pig like the two of you," said Ryoma as he pointed to the sauce stains on the napkins the other two used to cover their clothes.

"Ah! It's so dirty! Nya!" said Kikumaru.

"It's all right. No worries," said Ayana.

"Gomen ne, Ayana-san," said Oishi.

* * *

Eriol's girlfriend/fiancée came when the others were halfway through their dinner. She was clearly half Japanese and half European, like Eriol himself. Her tall and slender built were clearly European, but her eyes were a dark hazel colored pair shaped into almonds. She looked very pretty indeed, with her long flowing hair and her sophisticated way of dressing.

"Minna-san, this is my fiancée, Tomoyo Flynn. She's the daughter of the CEO of an advertising company in France. She works as a part time model as well," said Eriol as he introduced her.

"Hello there," said Tomoyo.

"Wow, a real model! Nya!" said Kikumaru.

"It's nice to see you again, Tomoyo-chan. Come and join us," said James.

"Likewise, James-san, it's been quite a while since the last time we've seen each other," said Tomoyo.

"Someone please get a plate for Tomoyo-chan," said Kuniko.

After dinner, the mini show began. Eriol was the one to start the performance with a piano piece. He decided to play _Balade pour Adeline_ while the others watched him play. It was beautiful and fun tune to listen to. Yumi sat in front with her grandfather and enjoyed the way her cousin played the playful tune.

His brother followed next. His piece was a more solemn tune compared to Eriol's _Balade pour Adeline. _He chose a piece by Frederick Chopin, his and Yumi's favorite pianist. He chose to play _Nocturne for piano no. 19- e minor, _one of the piano pieces he's been spending time to study for a good few weeks now. Of course it took him time to learn it all since he's been busy with the Student council and the club.

"Onii-chan's been practicing this piece at home every day after dinner for the last two weeks," said Yumi.

"It's a very beautiful piece. Whose piece is it?" asked Fuji.

"Chopin. He's my and onii-chan's favorite pianist. I'll play another one of his piano pieces later," said Yumi.

"Ah, Fantasie Impromptu, right?" asked Sanada.

"That's right," said Yumi.

"Yumi-chan, why are you wearing gloves?" asked Momoshiro.

"Yeah, it isn't that cold out here, nya," said Kikumaru.

"It's to keep my hands warm for when I play," said Yumi.

"Does that help when you play?" asked Oishi.

"It helps a lot. I feel less tensed when I play, plus I can move faster when my hands and fingers are relaxed," Yumi explained.

The slow flowing notes of Tezuka's playing gracefully slid down the keys of the piano. From the solemn and slow tunes, it gradually increased its tempo. The music flowed smoothly as Tezuka's fingers touched each cold key and eventually the tune ended. Applause broke from the small crowd as Tezuka's friends and family praised his piano playing.

"Outstanding, Kunimitsu!" said James.

"All right, who's next?" asked Kunikazu as Tezuka stepped down from the stage-like platform.

"Yumi-chan should play next," said Kuniko.

"Ah, very well then, Yumi it is," said Kunikazu.

Yumi removed her pigtails and finger combed her hair to set it in place. She walked towards the platform and began to get ready. She removed her gloves and placed them on top of the grand piano. She sat on the chair comfortably while looking at the piano piece her brother has placed on the score stand for her. It was _Frederick Chopin's Fantasie Impromtu, _one of her most favorite pieces. She stretched her fingers a bit and then began tapping a few of the black and white keys.

When she began playing the tune was fast and yet it held a serious tone to it. It was as if at that moment everyone held their breadths as the youngest in the family played one of the most complicated pieces they've heard that night. From the fast tune it slowed to a sweet melody that flowed smoothly as it glided through the piano keys. Then as the slow tune progressed, again, it flowed into the fast playful tune Yumi played at first. Her fingers looked like it was simply gliding atop the keys and then the melody slowed and it finally ended.

"That was wonderful, Yumi-chan!" said Oishi.

"You've been practicing that piece since my last visit, haven't you?" asked Eriol.

"Yes, although the upright piano in the sitting room had a different tune to it though. I asked father to call someone to tune it already," said Yumi as she sat back.

"Yes, the music store said they'd fix it after we come back," said Kuniharu.

"Why'd you remove your pigtails, Yumi-chan?" asked Kikumaru.

"Well, if I had them on, no one usually takes me seriously when I look like that whenever I play," said Yumi.

"That was a rather breathtaking performance," said Yukimura.

"Thank you," said Yumi.

"You looked absolutely adorable, Yumi-chan. Your dress is so pretty too, it suits you well," said Tomoyo.

"Arigatou, it was something otou-san bought when he went for a short trip to Korea," said Yumi.

"It looks really pretty on you," said Tomoyo.

"Of course, Yumi-chan's the youngest and the only girl amongst all otou-san's grandchildren. She's bound to be showered with all the cute stuff like this," said Kuniko.

"Which reminds me; Aoi and Aki asked me to give something to Yumi-chan. I left it inside the house so I'll give it to you later, dear," said Kunimiki as s the talked to Yumi.

"Mou, they didn't have to get me anything. It would've been great if they were here though," said Yumi.

"Ah, but your onii-san tachi are so inclined with their research that they had to pass on this summer's reunion. We'll visit you soon after this," said Kunimiki.

The rest of the evening was still filled with wonderful music and chatter from the small crowd of Tezukas and tennis players. Kuniharu played the piano while Yumi was accompanying him with her violin as they played _Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5 in F._ It was a lovely melody that reminded everyone of spring and of the wind as it flowed around them all. Of course the highlight of the evening was the promised trio that played that night. Whilst Eriol was playing the piano, Yumi and Fuji played the violin to the tune of _Pachelbel's Canon in D Major_. It was a lovely show to watch and to listen to. Their music blended so well together and the happy tune gave everyone more energy albeit the night's chill grew colder. It was amazing how Fuji's violin playing seemed to accompany Yumi's while the two were being accompanied by Eriol's piano playing. It was as if the two violins were conversing and their music flowed out so beautifully it was the most breathtaking performance they watched that night. Even Eriol himself was amazed at how lovely their instruments blended. He's been playing with so many violinists before but never have they performed as great these two.

"The perfect way to end this lovely evening isn't that right otou-sama?" asked Ayana.

"Yes, that's right. Thank you, my dear grandchildren for your wonderful performances. Of course, my only son's playing was something I've always looked forward to each year. And to you, Fuji-kun, thank you for that outstanding performance. I never knew you could play so wonderfully. I look forward to listening to your music more in the future," said Kunikazu.

"It's my honor, Kunikazu-sama," said Fuji.

"Thank you for inviting us as well. We never knew the Tezuka family always had these kinds of reunions," said Oishi.

"Hn, Tezuka-buchou never mentioned it, nyah!" said Kikumaru.

"Thank you for inviting us as well; though it's been a short while only since we've met this family, "said Yukimura.

"Ah, it's no problem at all," said Kuniharu.

"Shall we head to the sitting room for some tea?" asked Ayana.

"Yes, an old man like me would love that," said Kunikazu as he stood up and walked alongside Kuniharu towards the house.

* * *

The following morning, at around 7am, the tennis players, along with Yumi, Eriol and Tomoyo rented out some bikes from a nearby shop to look around town. In place of their usual jog in the morning, they decided that touring Karuizawa while on bikes would be the best way to look around the place more. This time their bike trip lasted a bit longer than usual. They actually got to look at the Shiraito Falls, a waterfall measuring three meters high and 70 meters across. This waterfall has its source in the Yukawa River. A magnificent sight, the underground water of this fall splits over the rock face, making the water appear like white threads. It was so beautiful that they couldn't help but take a lot of pictures.

When they got back to the house, the helpers were already serving them some brunch (breakfast/lunch). This time it was in Ryoma's favor. The breakfast was a traditional Japanese breakfast that everyone enjoyed. Tea was served a few minutes after everyone finished their meal; green tea to be more precise.

"What plans do you have for today, Kunimitsu?" asked Ayana as she came to check up on them.

"We might go to Kumoba pond since they haven't been there yet. Then we plan to go souvenir shopping in the afternoon," said Tezuka.

"Do you have other plans for today, _auntie,_" said Eriol in his usual mixed way of talking. He's been fond of adding English words during conversations with his Japanese relatives.

"We were just planning on going souvenir shopping later. I guess we could just meet in the shopping center so we can all buy souvenirs together," said Ayana.

"Will Yumi-chan be coming with you or with us?" asked Kuniko.

"She's going with her onii-san of course. Am I right, princess?" asked Kuniharu as he refilled his teacup.

"Hai, I want to go and see Kumoba pond. We'll meet at the shopping center anyway, ne okaa-san?" said Yumi.

"Yes. Do remember to bring your mobile phone with you so we'll know where you will be," said Ayana, as she addressed her eldest child.

Kumoba pond, also known as ''Swan Lake", is the perfect spot for a walk in the woods. There were tourists walking around, some riding bicycles, as they look around the majestic place. Some, like the two members of the Photography Club, were walking around carrying their cameras as they take pictures.

"It's so pretty," Yumi murmured as she took photos of the lake.

"It's called _Swan Lake_ too, according to the guidebook," said Sanada.

"Yes, Kumoba pond is known for that name as well. Most movies about the Swan Princess shoot here. Some plays also take picture from this place and enlarge them as backdrops," Tezuka explained.

"I feel like Odette when I'm here," said Yumi.

"Odette? Is that the lead character in the story of the Swan Princess?" asked Yukimura.

"Yes, during my ballet lessons before, we performed a dance adapting the story of the Swan Princess," said Yumi.

"Eriol never mentioned you knew ballet, Yumi-chan," said Tomoyo.

"Oh, I do dance but I've already finished the course in the ballet school I entered. I could still study further but I decided I wanted to learn other things other than dancing," said Yumi.

"Yumi's inclined in the arts more than she is in sports. It's odd though, that you're the club manager of a tennis club," said Eriol.

"She's been practicing tennis for a while now," said Oishi.

"She's actually doing a pretty good job at it too," said Fuji.

"Well, Yumi's not exactly the sporty type. I brought her to a golf course once when my family visited and her golf club flew right before she could hit the ball," said Eriol.

"There are other sports that don't fit Yumi though," said Ryoma.

They reached a bench during this time and some of them sat as they tried to enumerate the numerous sports that Yumi can't and won't be able to try even if she wanted to. There were a lot of course, and Yumi openly admitted that she won't be able to do any of them. She's happy enough that tennis is something she can try since she has her brother monitoring her improvement. But even so, Tezuka still had to make an effort to look for the lightest racket available so she wouldn't have any trouble playing tennis.

"She can't do basketball, nya," said Kikumaru.

"Too short," said Ryoma.

"She won't be able to play volleyball either," said Fuji.

"She's too panicky she'd run away from the ball instead of hitting it. Plus, the net is too high she won't even get the ball over it," said Ryoma.

"Soccer won't fit her too," said Sanada.

"She'd slip before she kicks the ball," said Ryoma.

"Hey, I'm not that clumsy!" said Yumi.

"Save it, I know you too well. I saw you try to kick a ball during gym class," said Ryoma.

"Golf is clearly a no-no. She won't be able to carry a bowling ball. She's too skinny for American Football she might get squished," said Oishi.

"Which means Yumi-chan has to do her best in learning tennis, right? It's the only sport that somehow works for you, for now at least," said Tomoyo.

"Too bad though, _gramps_, would've loved it if you learned martial arts," said Eriol.

"Even if she could I wouldn't let her," said Tezuka.

"Hn, Onii-chan says if I try to learn it I might just break my bones," said Yumi.

"Tezuka-senpai!" they all heard a high pitched voice.

When they turned to see who it was, Sakuno and Osakada came to where they were, both wearing roller skates. It looked totally out of place. They were both in Junior High already and they were both wearing Western clothing that looked totally awkward since their skates looked very much of a kid pair of roller skates. If they were wearing their Seishuun Gakuen uniform they would probably pass as simple kids.

"Interesting…hmm…attire, Ryuuzaki-chan," said Fuji.

"Why thank you very much senpai," said Osakada.

"Why'd you leave us in the horror booth, Ryoma-kun!? We were both so terrified!" Sakuno said exaggeratedly.

"I forgot," Ryoma muttered.

"You forgot?" asked Momo.

"Yeah, I was helping Yumi pass a fence and then we continued walking. I forgot about them," said Ryoma.

"Mou! That's so unfair! You were a complete gentleman for Yumi-san yet you forgot us," said Sakuno.

"It wasn't intentional. He just happens to be forgetful," said Oishi.

"To make it up to us you have to spend the whole afternoon with us," said Sakuno.

"Gomen, we're heading somewhere today," said Ryoma.

"What?! Last time you said you can't because you had somewhere else to be as well. Is it because Yumi-san wants you on her own and doesn't want you to be with me during vacation," said Sakuno.

"_Now, now, that's going a little overboard, isn't it?_" said Tomoyo in perfect British accented English.

" _It's all right," _Ryoma answered, in English as well.

"Ryuuzaki-chan, if you have anything to say about Ryoma not coming with you during vacation then I suggest you talk to him. In any case, I think he's not obliged to do anything you say anyway, unless you're his girlfriend," said Yumi.

It was the first time they heard Yumi speak this seriously towards anybody and her spunk totally wowed them. Here was a young girl you'd always hear talking about music and academics during regular days but it seemed that she transforms when offended. She was in the right path though; Sakuno really didn't have any right to demand anything from anyone of them. Plus, involving Yumi in something she's clearly not knowledgeable of is a big mistake she made.

"Well, are you his girlfriend?" asked Yumi.

"No," said Sakuno, with gritted teeth.

"Then I suppose it's clear and that you've understood that you have no hold or say on the matter; neither do you, Osakada-san," said Yumi.

"H-hai," said Osakada.

"If you'll excuse us then, we'll be on our way," said Eriol as he stirred his cousin and her friends away from the two girls.

_

* * *

_

Sakuno was fuming as she watched the group leave. Her perfect plan to invite her prince to spend the whole day with her was a total flop and she ended up being toppled over by Yumi's words. Even if they were true, Sakuno still got angry at her. Yumi was becoming one of the biggest hindrances

"Daijoubu desu ka Sakuno?" asked Osakada.

"Arrggggh! What do you think?! Let's go!" she screamed.

Meanwhile, the others were already on their way to the shopping district to meet up with the Tezuka family for their souvenir shopping. They were waiting for the others to arrive while inside a coffee shop at the same time chatting about what happened earlier. It was very unexpected, both Yumi's and Sakuno's reactions from each others' statements were clearly out of the ordinary; or at least it wasn't the usual Yumi and the old Sakuno they all knew.

"You were so tough, Yumi-chan, nya," said Kikumaru.

"It was her fault, not mine," Yumi said calmly.

"She handled it pretty well though, ne Tezuka-kun?" said Yukimura.

"I would've preferred it if she didn't respond but her response was on the right side anyway. It really wasn't any of Ryuuzaki's business," said Tezuka.

"I feel sad she's turned out to be such a mean girl, nya," said Kikumaru.

"Here I thought she and Echizen were going to end up together. The first few months of this school year she was so demure and pretty," said Momoshiro.

"Then she came back with a beautiful face and a monstrous attitude problem," said Kikumaru.

"Don't say that Eiji," said Oishi.

"Even so, they're right Oishi. Ryuuzaki really has changed in a negative way. Maybe we should talk to Ryuuzaki-sensei about it," said Fuji.

"Senpai, it isn't any of our business. Just leave her be; I'm sure she'll get over herself," said Ryoma.

"Aren't you even sad, Echizen? She used to have a mad crush on you during the first month of the school year," said Momo.

"Even if she did have a crush on me, I'm not obliged to like her right away. Besides, it's none of my business if she decides to become an angel or a monster," said Ryoma.

After some time the others arrived and they all went to buy their souvenirs. The incident earlier that day was put aside and they all enjoyed their last few days together; Yukimura and Sanada are going back after another day. When evening came they all stayed at the garden while star gazing after dinner. There were only a few days more before summer vacation was over and pretty soon the Seigaku tennis club will be busy once again. Along with that, there were other unexpected occurrences to come in their lives; both positive and negative, or is it only the latter?

* * *

Finally done! Weeeeeeh! anyhoo, please review this for me. It'll help me if you give a few suggestions since I want to put a tennis match in the next chapter. This will be the last chapter of the Summer Holidays Series and I hope you like it. I might make side stories in the future...maybe something a bit shorter than this series but it'll definitely be fun to read.

* * *

Yosh!!!!!!!! It's time for Ysah-chan's mini emoticons lesson!! Today will be lesson number 3!!!! I pretty much use Asian emoticons here so I hope you enjoy them too. ^_^ Now then, on with the lesson!!!!!!! *Insert serious motivated face here*

d^_^b - guy/girl listening to music

d(w)b- two thumbs up!!!

&_&- Eye rolls - apparently this is what it means according to a friend

x_O -punched in the face

(^A^)//- Huzzah!!! face

that's the end of our emoticon lessons for now. Do you want other lessons here? You can suggest! Anyhooo~!!! Bai!!

Oh and please drop some questions here http(space):(space)//ayaheartsyousomuch(dot)tumblr(dot)com/ask just remove the spaces and replace the *dots* with actual dots


	14. Chapter 12

Whew! It's been a really, as in REALLY long time since I last updated. I'm very sorry! Hontou ni Gomenasai minna-sama. There were a lot of things that happened after my last update and that certainly included problems due to my home internet connection, laziness, plus other random projects and other stuff. Up to now my backlog is still quite full and I'm really disappointed with the very slow progress of my work. , For this update I will have to skip my emoticons mini-tutorial. I forgot to set up for that before I finished this chapter and honestly I think this chapter is a little lame so please excuse the awful lameness haha. I know i'm not living up to your expectations at the moment, my apologies.

Thanks to the following who reviewed chapter 11-c(aka chapter 13 according to )

**denizen of the night -**Sakuno's not a favorite character of mine as well. She obviously isn't haha. Yes, I have seen La Corda D'oro, just the first season though. I wanna see the next season but I dunno when I could get a copy of that season. I finally updated!

**Yayz! (HEYO YO-YO)-** Thanks for liking the story! and thank you very much for the greeting.

**invisible-gurl**- yes, she's the only female grandchild. I have an affinity with stories like this one hence the result of my writing lol. and yes ryo-tan should really suck it up and work hard to get everyone in the tezuka clan's approval hahahaha.

**mewmewlover23-**Thanks. I'm glad you loved it too.

**lovelyanimeangel-**never liked Sakuno also. I was able to go to a convention this July. it was really fun. not as fun as most cons I've been to but it was definitely enjoyable. I'm planning on going as Alice from Alice in wonderland next time. I just have to repair a skirt I have that definitely matches Alice's skirt.

**MoonlightChaos, makoko, girl-of-anime**- sorry for compressing your replies, but I just want to say thanks and enjoy reading again!

**smash41kmf-**updates on the ryomaxyumi seens to come soon! the next chapter will be your best bet!

**EdxWinry6789-**hurhurhu...let's see what happens next.

**falling-angel99, kc and xburner21 **thanks for reading and reviewing!

To all, I'm sorry it took such a long time and yet here I am posting a lame chappie. I will make up for it soon. Thanks, R&R and wish me luck on the next one~!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

The interschool tournaments are already over and the district tournaments have already begun for the tennis club. They've been working hard for their matches during practice and they've toughened up to be able to face any kind of tennis player they will meet. One of the perks of being the team managers is that he or she is always with the team during important events. Since Yumi has been acknowledged by the whole campus as Seigaku tennis club's manager, she now sports a custom made Seigaku club manager's bag and her own jacket.

The day she got her manager's uniform and materials was epic. Of course being the only girl in the club everyone tends to treat her a tad differently than other members. When she got her uniform, the members coaxed her into trying it on and showing it to all of them. The regulars were amongst those in front of the rest of the club.

_Flashback_

_ "Are you done, Yumi-chan?" asked Oishi as Yumi was the only one inside the clubroom._

_ "Almost done," Yumi answered._

_ "This is the first time the club is having a manager, ne senpai?" asked a second year._

_ "Ah, and everyone's really very supportive of Yumi-chan. She's very thankful for that you know," said Taka-san._

_ "Though she doesn't execute any moves much, she does know how to calculate any adjustments needed for tennis moves that's why we appreciate her a lot," said Arai, a second year._

_ "She's a bit clumsy at times though," said Kachiro. _

_ "And has a big brother complex," said Ryoma, and everyone nodded to that._

_ It was already very obvious that Yumi had a big brother complex. Apparently, some of the confessions from Tezuka's admirers were a bit more intrusive than the first batches Yumi met before the summer break. They were so persistent that it came to the point that Yumi got annoyed with some of them who said they'd like to hang out with Yumi so they could hang out with Tezuka. Of course, Tezuka got irritated when he heard about this as well. He forbade his sister to ever accept any conversation with his admirers if it were to ask help to get to him._

_ "How does it look?" asked Yumi as she stepped out._

_ The manager's jersey somehow resembled the regular's jersey. In place of the white shorts, Yumi wore a white skirt and instead of the straight looking jersey top, she got a more feminine looking top in the same Seigaku design. Her jacket was similar to the regulars' except for its fit since it was more feminine. She also got a small duffle bag that had SEIGAKU written on it._

_ "Kawaii, nya!" said Kikumaru._

_ "There's a 99.9% chance that the tailor got scared by Fuji's instructions regarding the length of the skirt," said Inui._

_ "Pretty good, Yumi-chan. Now all you need to do is toughen up a bit more and learn to play real tennis," said Arai._

_ "Maa, she's getting there. I hear she practiced during summer vacation with her brother and some of the regulars," said Ryuuzaki-sensei._

_ "Saa, look here Yumi-chan," said Fuji as he got his camera ready._

_ "Be sure to give me a copy of that Fujiko," said Taka-san._

_ "Me too," said Oishi._

_ "Of course," said Fuji as he took another shot._

_ "Mou, what will senpai-tachi do with my photo?" asked Yumi._

_ "It's a souvenir of course," said Fuji._

_ "Mou, I should've given you postcards if you wanted souvenirs," said Yumi as she pouted._

_ "Nyah! Such a cute pout! Take a photo of that Fuji!" said Kikumaru._

_End of Flashback_

As the manager, Yumi had to accomplish the line up for the game against Fudomine. Of course since Inui lost in the regulars' selection, he was assigned as the team's trainer and the lineup for eight players was completed. Playing for doubles two is Fuji and Taka-san and for doubles one is Kikumaru and Oishi. Singles three will be Momoshiro, singles two will be Kaidoh and singles one goes to Ryoma. Tezuka was put on the reserve position for this tournament since it wasn't entirely necessary for him to get in.

"Seishuun gakuen tennis team, here with eight regulars," said Yumi as she handed the team's lineup to the registering booth.

"Ah, thank you. Please see the schedules at the bulletin board," said the girl.

"Thank you," said Yumi.

Once registered, the team looked up their schedule for the game and then went to the courts right ahead. They were scheduled for the midday games so they still had enough time to look at other matches and prepare for their time to play.

"Yumi, eat that sandwich we packed earlier, you need to take your medicine," said Tezuka as they were all watching a tennis match.

"Ah, you still need to continue the medicine you got from last week," said Inui.

"It tastes so bitter. I don't like it at all," said Yumi as she munched on the tuna sandwich she unwrapped.

"But you have to, Yumi-chan, otherwise you'll get sick again. That would be bad," said Oishi.

"You can go and buy one candy later if you want to, but only ONE," Taka-san emphasized.

"No Taka-san she shouldn't take any sweets for now. It isn't good na, it isn't yo," said Momo.

"I brought fresh orange juice today. After you drink your medicine you can drink it to wash away the bitterness of the medicine," said Oishi.

"Nyah, so much like a mom, ne? Oishi's definitely deserving of the title mother hen, nya. Ne, Oishi-mama?" said Kikumaru.

(break)

The first few matches went well, up until it was Echizen's turn to play that is. He was in a match with Ibu Shinji from Fudoumine. There was a bit of an accident but eventually he won and Seigaku brought home the win. The accident caused a bit of an uproar at first but Echizen proved how outstanding he really is when it came to playing tennis.

"Ryoma-kun, my grandmother said you had to come with us to get your eye treated," said Sakuno, who arrived right before the games began.

"I'm all right," said Ryoma.

"Don't be ridiculous, look at you! You're bleeding!" Sakuno insisted and pulled his arm towards Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"Ah, come on then. Let's have that eye of yours treated," said the team coach.

The doctor who checked on his eye was extremely surprised to see his injury. First there was Kawamura and his injured wrist, and now here was another tennis player injured on his eyelid. The doctor patched his eyelid up nonetheless and allowed him to go afterwards.

"Kids nowadays, you'd think they'd be using samurai's instead of rackets when they're playing tennis," said the doctor as the three of them stepped out of his clinic.

"Doumo, for this, sensei," said Ryoma.

"Ah, that's fine. Let's go then. Everyone is already waiting for us," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"Huh?" asked Ryoma.

Before he even heard an explanation, Ryoma was pushed into Ryuuzaki-sensei's car. They drove for a while and before he realized it, they were already in front of Kawamura's Sushi bar. When the door was opened, he saw the whole team, the two magazine reporters, Osakada and Yumi inside celebrating. Taka-san was helping his dad serve the sushi while the rest were enjoying the food and each others' company.

"_Saankyu _Kawamura-papa," said Kikumaru as he got another serving of his favorite Anago.

"Ah, Echizen! You're finally here!" said Momo as he pulled his best friend into a headlock.

"Sensei!" said Kawamura's father as the three of them entered.

"Ah, thank you for taking care of our celebration once again. I feel bad that you have to close the shop though," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"No, it's fine. At least my useless son is quite useful in your team," said Kawamura's father.

"Mou, Oyaji, I'm a hard worker you know. I put a lot of effort whenever we have tournaments and when I help you make the sushi we sell," said Taka-san.

The celebration went on until the afternoon. Tezuka, Ryuuzaki-sensei and Oishi had to go back to school to get some papers finished for the club. Yumi was left behind with the celebrating team, along with the two reporters. Shiba-san and Inoue-san are both from Pro tennis weekly magazine and they've known Ryuuzaki-sensei for quite some time now. According to Inoue-san, he's also known Ryoma's father as well.

"Ah, but I do wonder who this girl is. This is the first time I've seen you with the team," said Shiba.

"This is Tezuka Yumi, buchou's younger sister. She works as the club manager," said Momo.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you, Yumi-san. You must be very proud of your older brother. Tell me, does he have any good or bad habits that he doesn't show in public?" said Shiba, with a knowing look that shouts _I'm-a-Tezuka-Kunimitsu-fan-girl-give-me-information._

"Gomen, my brother strictly forbids me to give any information about himself to anyone who I'm not well acquainted with," said Yumi.

"Hahaha, you deserve that Shiba-chan. Trying to leech information from Tezuka-kun's younger sister would never work," said Inoue.

"Mou, it's hard to get information on Tezuka-kun and Ryoma-kun. At least let me take a photo with you, Ryoma-kun," said Shiba as she sat beside Ryoma.

"No thank you," said Ryoma who was sitting next to Yumi and Kachiro.

"Mou, come on. Katsuo-kun please do the honors," said Shiba as she handed her camera to Katsuo.

The shot was messed up though, because when Katsuo was about to take the picture, Shiba was pushed and instead of a photo with Shiba, Ryoma got a photo with Sakuno. The Polaroid shot registered well and everyone saw the picture. Sakuno was sitting next to Shiba; who was sitting next to Ryoma, when Momo slipped and he accidentally pushed Sakuno who collided with Shiba, and Shiba ended up on the floor.

"No more pictures. I don't want any more please," said Ryoma who exchanged places with Kachiro.

"I'll treasure this picture always, Ryoma-kun. Although it would be really nice to take a more decent one," said Sakuno.

"Just one more picture, please, Ryoma-kun," said Shiba.

"Shiba-chan, stop it. You're making the boy uncomfortable," said Inoue.

An hour later and Tezuka and Oishi were still at school doing some necessary papers for the club. It was already getting quite dark and Yumi was still there with the team; enjoying the random conversations and the mini-games that Kikumaru began with Momo. Inoue and Shiba left before the mini-games started and they were followed by Osakada and Sakuno, who were both disappointed by the lack of attention their skimpy clothes were getting.

"Ah, wait I got a message from Oishi," said Kikumaru right after he did his turn in the charade game they were playing.

"What did he say?" asked Kaidoh.

"Oh, Tezuka said to ask Fuji to walk Yumi-chan home. They were called in by the principal, along with all the other presidents and vice-presidents of the clubs," Kikumaru explained.

"No wonder, onii-chan was taking so long," said Yumi.

"Saa, should we go home now, Yumi-chan? Ayana-san must be wondering why you aren't home yet," said Fuji.

"We should all go now, we still have class tomorrow," said Ryoma, who motioned to stand up right after.

"You're along the way ne, Echizen?" asked Fuji.

"Un, I'll come along," said Ryoma.

"Me too," said Momo.

"We'll be going then. Arigatou gozaimasu, Kawamura-senpai. Thank you for going through all the trouble, Kawamura-papa," Yumi bowed. The nickname Kikumaru gave Taka-san's father stuck and everyone seemed to enjoy calling him that way now.

"It's all right. I'll see you all soon!" said Kawamura-papa as he and his son watched the group leave the sushi bar.

"I feel great!" said Taka-san.

"Ah, come on let's clean up then we can rest," said Kawamura-papa.

(break)

The walk to Yumi's house was chatty, since Fuji and Momo were there to keep the two younger ones talking. It was odd though, Yumi's and Ryoma's house were quite near; they only separate two blocks away since the village Yumi lived in can only be reached by a specific bus, but they rarely walk home together. It wasn't because Tezuka was there, but they rarely did anyway. Of course, Ryoma sometimes had his detours with Momo and Kikumaru; like going to the burger shop or the sports shop, so the time difference when they go home probably vary because of that.

"I'll be fine from here," said Yumi when they got to the bus stop.

"No, I'll come with you and I'll just take the bus back here," said Fuji.

"Wouldn't it be a bother?" asked Yumi.

"It's fine, besides I'd worry too much if I wasn't sure you're home safe," said Fuji.

"Well, the two of us go that way so we'll say goodbye here. Hope you had a great time, Yumi-chan," said Momo.

"I did. Take care Momo-senpai," said Yumi.

"Call me when you get home," said Ryoma.

"I will," said Yumi.

"Saa, I'll see you next practice you two," said Fuji.


	15. Chapter 13

Minna! Hontou ni Gomenasai! It took me a while to write this chapter and after reading this it'll be quite obvious that there's more to it in the coming chapter. Anyhoo, I'm very sorry for not updating fast. My backlog has reached its highest point and I am neck-deep in my files of backlogged documents and activities at the moment. I will try my very best to update again soon. Please dont expect anything until next week though. haha.

Oh and by the way, I wanted to know how all of you see Yumi in your minds. Soooo~ I decided to hold an online art contest!

There are three categories:

**1. Yumi **

**2. Ryoma x Yumi and lastly **

**3. Regular x OC.**

Take your time in making the art work. Send a jpeg format of your entry to **Alyssa4(underscore)Jane(at)yahoo(dot)com**. The subject should be the category that you want to enter. The best entries will be posted in my Tumblr account and in my Facebook account. The winner for the RegularxOC category will be able to help me in making new pairings so please do send entries. ahah. I hope you guys/gals join!

A big thanks to the following people for taking the time to read and review the previous chapter:

**YueLilianPotter**- I like your username! Oh and thanks.  
**Coco96-** Thanks for lovin' it! I'm not familiar with how MarySue's are but I guess she didn't turn out as one. This is silly but I like it when my characters are different from most people.  
**mewmewlover23**-Thankies~! I will try my utmost best to do so.  
**Hell's Angel 606**- O.O scary name but really eyecatching. Thanks. I'm glad it did. R&R Again soon ^_^  
**Yayz HEYO YO-YO** -thank you~! I really, as in really, HATE Sakuno. I don't why. People usually like underdogs like her (in the original she seemed that way in my pov &_&) but I really don't sympathize with her much. Lol and yes the idea was a good one yes?  
**MindMaster**- Thanks Nya~! Yes she's bitchy here.  
**Falling-Angel99**- fufufuf~ I have influenced you into not looking at her teh same way again hahaha. well yeah, i also think she looked pathetic in the anime and i prefer tough girls than underdogs.  
**XcirclesX** Sorry for not writing right away *bowsdown* I will try to update more.  
**invisible-gurl-** oooh wait til you read the next one! haha  
l**ovelyanimeangel**-join the contest! I'd love to see your fanart of Yumi! I recently went to a anime specialty store and bought two items ^_^ A Shakugan no Shana necklace (Alastor~! Yay!) and Ciel Phantomhive's blue diamond ring! I just couldn't help it ^_^'

Disclaimer: _Tenisu no Oujisama _otherwise known as The Prince of Tennis is not a property of Ysah-chan the authoress. Other characters mentioned are of Ysah-chan's wicked mind and are not in any way related to a living or non-living person. Any similarities to whoever person you meet that seems like they are from my story is pure coincidental. I'm pretty sure they all just popped out of my head. ^_^

Now then, on with the story~!

* * *

Chapter 13- Most Requested

"…_all right everybody, don't forget your permission slips tomorrow. Bring enough snacks and drinks and don't forget to bring your art materials…" Izumi-sensei, the Art teacher ranted on as he tried to remind everybody about the upcoming Art field trip._

_ The class has been having practice sessions on how to draw concrete objects using different mediums on canvass. Izumi-sensei decided that as an output of their topic and a source of credits for the upcoming periodical exams, the class would visit a particular mansion a few kilometers outside from Seishuun. He mentioned that it was a Victorian house with a maze and a giant chess pieces in the garden. Everyone thought the experience would be good since they will be facing other exams after a few days from the field trip. It would calm all of them down before their dreaded exam week._

_ "Wow, a Victorian type mansion! I'm sure it'll be romantic for those who're dating," said one of their female classmates._

_ "What do you think, Echizen? Ryuuzaki will be all over you, I'm sure," said Horio._

_ "Funny. Haha," said Ryoma._

_ "Eh? Don't you like her Ryoma-kun?" asked Kachiro._

_ "I'm going because of class not because of her," said Ryoma._

_ "Will you three just shut up," Yumi muttered as she looked over at Izumi-sensei._

_ "All right then. All of you must choose a sketch buddy. You will be sitting together in the bus and you'll be together the whole day. Your buddies may come from this class or from the others that will come along," said Izumi-sensei._

—regular timeline—

"Have you seen Ryoma-kun?" asked Sakuno as Kachiro and Katsuo walked towards their bus.

"No we haven't," said Katsuo.

"Now that you mention him, I think I haven't seen Yumi-chan yet either," said Kachiro.

"Hey you! Have you found your buddies yet?" said Izumi-sensei.

"We're going together sensei," said Kachiro and Katsuo.

"How about you, Ryuuzaki? Where's your buddy?" asked the teacher.

"Gomen sensei, I'm still looking for Ryoma-kun," said Sakuno, her head turning to every direction she could possibly reach.

"Eh? But he's already in the bus. He's going as buddies with Tezuka-kun's imouto. They were the first to get in the bus," said Izumi-sensei.

"Ah sou ka, I guess I'll have to…Ah, well…I..ah…Excuse me s-sensei. I'll have to go ahead," said Sakuno, her anger very apparent from her face

* * *

The bus moved out of Seigaku grounds after a few more minutes. Tezuka was looking out the window from their classrooms as the buses continued to leave. It was the first time Yumi will go on a trip without him. The feeling he is having right now is too unfamiliar for him that it was almost a bit disturbing. He guessed it was part and parcel with being an overprotective older brother like he is. He'd have to face it though.

"You brought two?" asked Ryoma as he was looking at the lunch pack Yumi asked him to carry.

"I did. Knowing you, I bet you just brought some snacks," said Yumi.

"Well yeah, but I brought some Ponta though," said Ryoma.

"Are you sure you should be proud of that?" asked Yumi.

The trip to the mansion was quiet though. Both of them fell asleep due to fatigue from attending matches for the district tournaments. They woke up in time for all the students to file out of the buses. The facilitating teacher announced that the son of the owner of the mansion and is fiancée was going to welcome them.

"All right, minna, please listen and wait patiently. They're coming now," said one of the teachers.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," said the two familiar individuals.

"Eh?" Yumi reacted, upon seeing who the two were.

"Yumi-chan?" asked the bespectacled young man.

"Eriol-niisan, this is your home?" asked Yumi as she walked forward.

"Anou, do you know each other Tezuka-chan?" asked Izumi-sensei.

"This little girl here is my youngest cousin," said Eriol as he motioned to Yumi.

"Eh?" said all the students.

"Hontou desu ka?" asked Horio.

"Yes, it's true. I've met them during the summer trip with buchou and his family," said Ryoma.

"Well, before anything else, welcome, to all of you. I hope you enjoy today's class activity," said Tomoyo.

The first years filed into the mansion where butlers were waiting to guide them in. They were limited to going to rooms in the first floor, the East wing of the second floor, the lawn, the recreation area and the garden where the maze and the chess board was. The students separated and went to different directions while following the butlers that were assigned to different areas of the mansion.

Yumi and Ryoma, on the other hand, found a beautiful statue in the middle of the maze in the garden. It was in from of a cream colored gazebo. They decided that it was the best choice for their project since the rest already chose to draw certain parts of the mansion.

"Excuse me, Young miss, Eriol-sama has asked me to bring the two of you some snacks," said a butler as he was followed by a maid in a French maid uniform.

"Arigatou gozaimasu. Please send my thanks to him and to Tomoyo-neesama," said Yumi as she and Ryoma were served with some Darjeeling and some scones.

"Doumo," Ryoma muttered.

"Also, the young master wishes to see you after you've finished with your project. He'll meet you in the study later this afternoon," said the butler as he handed a glass bell to the maid; who paced it on the table between the two of them.

"All right, we'll call you once we're done," said Yumi.

Meanwhile, in Seishuun Gakuen, the student council and the presidents of the various curricular and extra-curricular clubs and organizations were all in a meeting with the head teacher. They were called regarding the upcoming school festival. The Seishuun Gakuen school festival will be a three-day celebration that will showcase all of the booths and activities that the clubs and students will be preparing. For this particular meeting; which will occupy most of the day, the head teacher decided to gather all of the student heads to check on the progress of their plans.

"All right, all proposal sheets should be passed on my table on Friday. I will have to check on all of them first before I give them back to you for finalization. Be sure to keep in mind, the rules and the qualifications for approval of the booths or activities that you will be presenting to me," said the head teacher.

"The proposal sheets should all be in hardcopy form and should follow the school format. In case you're not familiar with the format you may approach Tezuka-kun, our student council president, for the copy," said the assistant head teacher.

The first half of the meeting ended after a few more discussions and Tezuka walked out of the office with Fuji by his side. They were both student presidents and it helped that the two of them could share ideas for their upcoming booths. The boys' tennis club; because of Ryuuzaki-sensei's instructions to them, would be having a maid and butler café; Yumi being the only maid. It was only the photography club that Fuji was quite bothered about. It was his last year as president of the club and he wants to show everyone the outcome of the members' works.

"I'm still not quite sure how we'd work this out," said Fuji.

"Well, you could have an exhibit. I heard the Art club is having one, why don't you and your members collaborate with them and have an exhibit as well," Tezuka suggested.

"That sounds great, Tezuka. I was thinking of having our works printed out and published into books however it would cost a lot more than this suggestion you gave me," said Fuji.

"Well if you consider the materials, the binding and the editing then it would definitely give you a higher money mark up compared to doing an exhibit," said Tezuka.

"I guess I'll have to talk to the members when the first years get back," said Fuji.

"Excuse me, I'll have to take this call," said Tezuka as he checked the LCD of his ringing mobile phone.

_-Moshi-moshi-_ said the person from the other line.

"Hai, Tezuka-desu," said Tezuka.

_-Kunimitsu, this is Eriol,_- said Eriol.

"It's nice to hear from you, Eriol. Is there anything you need?" asked Tezuka.

_-It's nothing really. I just wanted to tell you that Yumi-chan and her class are having their art class here at my house- _said Eriol.

"Is that so? I didn't know they were having it there. Did Yumi cause any mischief?" asked Tezuka.

_-Oh no, of course she didn't. I just wanted to inform you in case we hold her up a bit longer. I'll be sure to call you again later just to be sure,- _said Eriol.

"All right, I'll inform otou-san about it," said Tezuka.

_-Thanks. See you soon. Ja,-_ said Eriol.

* * *

Yumi and Ryoma spent their time drawing quietly. They sat in front each other with the table between the two of them without minding what the other was doing. Occasionally they'd reach for some cookies from their stash of food and some from the scones that the butler brought earlier. Ryoma would occasionally glance at Yumi to see what she was drawing; though Yumi was doing the same thing from time to time.

"Sorry," said Ryoma as he accidentally touched Yumi's hand while they were both reaching for something to munch on.

"I-it's okay," said Yumi.

After an hour more, the two finally finished their sketches. They rang the bell and waited for the butlers to come and get them. The maze was easy to figure out if you're coming from the outside but getting out was a much difficult task. It was lucky though, that they had the butlers and maids to count on.

"Those look outstanding," said Eriol as he passed by the couch Yumi and Ryoma were sitting on.

The two were reviewing each other's works and then comparing their sketches to the photo Yumi took with her camera. Listening to the art teacher paid off. Though the process of finishing the sketches was a bit too long and tiring, it was well worth it. Their works looked really good and really amazing, for amateurs that is.

"Eriol-niisan, you never told me you had a mansion outside of Seishuun," said Yumi as she watched her cousin.

"Well, this house was newly renovated actually. It was only this month that I had it furnished," said Eriol.

"We're moving here after the wedding," said Tomoyo.

"That's great! That means you'll live a lot closer now," said Yumi.

"I know, that means we'll be able to visit you more since it's a lot closer now," said Tomoyo.

"But how about the family business, nii-san? You'll still be going on a lot of trips every now and then right?" asked Yumi.

"That's right but it's all right since the main office is here, it's accessible and it makes my job a lot easier since I have direct contact with the company," Eriol explained.

After a while they moved their chatting to the reception area where some of the other students and teachers were staying. Izumi-sensei was there too, doing some final touches to the drawing he himself drew as an example to his young students. He closed his drawing book and walked around the room, checking the students' works. He was commending one of the students when the group walked in.

"Ah, Eriol-sama, Tomoyo-sama, thank you for allowing us to come to your wonderful mansion," said Izumi-sensei.

"It's no problem, sensei. This is, after all, a class that my cousin and my young friend attends; so it's really not a big deal," said Eriol.

"Ah, I see you are also familiar with Echizen-kun," said Izumi-sensei.

"I spent part of the summer vacation with Yumi-chan and her family. I met Eriol-niisan and Tomoyo-neesan there," Ryoma explained.

"That's right. I'm glad you planned something like this, sensei. It's a good enrichment class for art classes," said Tomoyo.

"Ah yes, I though the idea would help since their academic examinations are coming soon. Unwinding through art is a very nice idea, isn't it?" said Izumi-sensei.

"My fiancée is a model and an artist. We have some of her paintings in the upper floor in the study room," said Eriol.

* * *

When everyone was finished with their work, they all gathered in a huge hall where three long tables were. (A/N: Think Hogwarts-tables-long ^_^) This is where they were to eat their lunch boxes and rest until the buses come back to pick them up. There was a projection system that was set up to bring entertainment while they were there.

"How was it, Yumi-chan? Did you draw something good?" asked Kachiro.

"I did. Ryoma did well too actually. We stayed at the maze in the garden," said Yumi.

"Really? We thought it was quite difficult to stay there so we didn't. We went somewhere else along with the other groups," said Katsuo.

"Did you see anything good?" asked Yumi.

"Ah, the huge chess board was great," said Kachiro.

"We decided to draw that but it was quite difficult because the benches were a bit far from that area," said Katsuo.

"How about you two?" asked Kachiro.

"We drew the statue in the maze," said Yumi.

"Ryoma-kun, let me just warn you. It seems Ryuuzaki-san is coming this way and she looks a little pissed," said Katsuo as he saw Sakuno strutting in the middle of the tables.

The said girl approached them like Katsuo mentioned. She looked thoroughly pissed about something but no one could really point out why, specifically. These days she always looked angry whenever she sighted Yumi anywhere near Ryoma. It was like she's been watching him like a hawk would to his prey.

"Ryoma-kun, why did you choose another partner? Didn't you receive the letter I left in your shoe cubby yesterday?" she asked angrily.

"Eh? What letter?" Kachiro asked.

"I left him a letter in his shoe cubby, asking if we could be partners for today's art field trip. But when I got here, the teacher said you already have a partner," said Sakuno.

"Was that what it said? Sorry but I threw it right away," said Ryoma as he just continued eating his bentou.

"You threw it away without even reading it? But still, why would you choose her instead of me?" said Sakuno, pointing to Yumi like she had leprosy or something.

"That's easy enough to understand, Ryuuzaki. I chose her because I want her to be my partner," Ryoma muttered before eating an octopus wiener.

"Why can't you just choose me? If you want to pair off with a girl, why choose her over me?" she argued, her voice catching a few more ears than intended.

"R-ryuuzaki-san please calm down," said Kachiro, who was already quite panicky when Sakuno came.

Ryoma place his chopstick down on his bentou box and then turned to face Sakuno. He wasn't actually facing her while she was ranting about her so-called "misfortune." It was bad enough that she came over to talk about this but it's even getting worse since he's almost at his boiling point. It isn't the same when facing tennis players on the court but this was just getting pretty annoying. He had to stop this before she caused him anymore problems.

"Ryoma-kun," Katsuo muttered, a bit scared with whatever he might say.

"The answer is simple, Ryuuzaki. Today's activity is sketching for the art classes and personally, I'd rather do it in PEACE. If I chose you, who knows how long you'd talk before I get even a minute of silence. Also, choosing whoever I want to be partners with is my choice, not yours. It's not any of your business," Ryoma explained bluntly, before resuming with what he was previously doing.

Upon hearing what he had to say, and some gossiping around the corners of the hall, Ryuuzaki Sakuno decided to retreat for the time being. It wasn't good if she made Ryoma angry. It would only give even more negativity about her intentions towards him if she pursued with her demands today.

"That was some talking you had with Ryuuzaki," said Yumi as they were riding the bus back to Seigaku.

"Really? I didn't notice," Ryoma muttered.

"She's really into you isn't she?" asked Yumi.

"A fan girl is what she is. I'm not interested in anyone as noisy as her and that friend of hers," said Ryoma.

"I see, but then again, does that mean you're interested in someone else other than her?" said Yumi.

The bus suddenly lurched forward to a stop and Yumi almost toppled forward, if not for Ryoma, who was now holding her by the shoulders. She sat back and felt the hands slowly leave her shoulders. It felt unusually warm. She took a glance and saw his slightly flustered friend looking at her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Yumi.

"What were we talking about?" asked Ryoma.

"Forget it, it isn't important anyway," said Yumi.

"Is your brother picking you up at school?" he asked, seemingly okay again after getting all flustered and all.

"No, the head honchos of the school's academic and extra-curricular clubs are having another meeting for the festival. I'm walking home earlier than him today," said Yumi.

"I'll walk you home. We can drop by that used books store you kept mentioning about," said Ryoma.

"All right, let's get some soft-served ice cream too. There's one next to it," said Yumi, obliviously.

* * *

When the bus reached Seishuun Gakuen, all the other students dispersed in different directions. Katsuo, Kachiro and Horio left together, although a bit shakily since Horio kept on pestering the two about not being able to hang out with them the whole time because he was paired forcibly with an equally noisy Tomoka. It was a consequence he had to face after being tardy for three consecutive days and in place of detention the two had to pair off. Tomoka was also under punishment that day, after breaking one of the beakers in the science laboratory.

Ryoma and Yumi headed to the used books store after getting off the bus. It was only a few blocks away from the campus. Being energetic and healthy as they were, the two simply walked in silence as they headed to the store. It was the first time Ryoma would be walking Yumi home but it just seemed like something they do all the time.

"You can read English right?" asked Ryoma as they were looking around the shop.

"I do. I'm not a fluent speaker but I do read a lot of English books. Eriol-niisan gave me a lot of paperback novels from Britain," Yumi explained.

"Have you read books by Paulo Coelho? His books are interesting," said Ryoma.

"I have, only one, but I did like it a lot," said Yumi.

After a while, they left the store and headed to the soft-served ice cream shop. They were the only customers at that time so they took a seat near the windows. The shop looked cute, with simple decorations in white and brown. The windows had glass art etchings on them of snowflakes. It felt like a place where Christmas was always celebrated. Their orders came after a few minutes. It was odd but they had some chocolate chip flavored waffles and vanilla flavored ice cream. When they finished, Ryoma insisted on paying the bill. He kept arguing that he was the one who invited her in the first place.

"You're quite young to have a girlfriend but you know how to play your cards well, huh sonny?" the old man behind the cashier gave them a toothy grin.

"Doumo," he replied after getting his change, ignoring the old man's earlier comment.

The two walked until they got to the bus stop to Yumi's village. Ryoma wanted to send her home but Yumi insisted on going by herself; it was already quite dark and she didn't want Ryoma to get scolded. In the end, Ryoma conceded and just waited before the bus loaded a bit more people.

"My cousin works part time in the new amusement park that opened last week. She gave me two tickets for free as a gift for the tournament, do you want to go out this weekend?" said Ryoma.

"Oh, from Nanako-san?" asked Yumi.

"Yeah, she said she got the tickets for free but all her friends aren't available this weekend so she gave it to me instead," said Ryoma.

"That's thoughtful of her," said Yumi.

"So, do you want to come?" asked Ryoma.

"Sure, I'll tell my brother and my mother about it. I'll call you later to confirm, okay?" said Yumi.

"All right, use your mobile phone. Oyaji's been pestering me about idiotic stuff so it's better to talk when we're out of earshot," said Ryoma.

"Okay," said Yumi.

_-in the Tezuka household—_

"Tadaima," said Yumi as she entered the house.

She was still in the foyer, placing her shoes back in the shoe cabinet when Mayi-san came. Though she insisted on not having one, her mom wanted her to have a nanny. It was odd since she's already attending junior high but she gave in and allowed her mother to hire Mayi-san just to pacify her wishes. Mayi-san was unexpectedly helpful to her, though not as much as you would expect a regular nanny would be. She worked more like a personal assistant or secretary rather than a nanny.

"Okaerinasai, ojou-sama," said the older woman as she was putting on her house slippers.

"Ah, Mayi-san; is there anything I need to do today?" she asked immediately, knowing that her mother would've informed Mayi-san beforehand about Yumi's chores and other tasks.

"There are no tasks for tonight, ojou-sama. Your grandfather left for Kyuushu after lunch earlier and I believe he will be coming home after two days. Your father is still at work and your mother is waiting for you at the kitchen," Mayi-san explained.

"All right, thank you. I'll go and get changed first," said Yumi.

After getting changed, Yumi proceeded to the kitchen and found her mother taking out some freshly baked brownies from the oven. Her mother loved cooking and baking, hobbies that she takes part in from time to time. She strode over and helped her mother take out the other tray inside the oven and placed them atop the counter.

"How was your day? Did you enjoy your trip?" Ayana asked.

"It was really fun. I didn't know we were going to Eriol-niisan's house so I was quite surprised but happy at the same time," said Yumi.

"Oh, really? So the place has finally been finished. It took Eriol some time to have that house remodeled and refurnished," said Ayana.

"It's a magnificent looking mansion. Nii-san said that we should come and visit during thanksgiving. They're having a party there," said Yumi.

"We'll ask your father about it," said Ayana.

The two sliced the brownies up and placed them all in a tray for serving. Yumi's dad and brother would be coming home soon, though they were not a fan of sweet things, the two would surely enjoy having some of the freshly baked brownies.

After a while, the two did arrive. Kuniharu came a fifteen minutes after his son arrived home. He mentioned that there were some letters that arrived in the office that he had to attend to before he left for home. A handful of envelopes on his hand were from those set of letters; they were invitations to parties and press conferences apparently. One being an invitation for the youngest Tezuka member to attend a fashion show; since their businesses also extends up to the fashion industry.

"Would you like to attend this, Yumi? You could pick a friend to come with you. Of course Mayi-san would be coming with you as well," said Kuniharu.

"I have a senpai from the Photography club who's really close to me. Her name is Mizuno Tenshi. Can I bring her with me?" asked Yumi.

"Sure, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. Ask your friend on Monday then I'll give them a call to have the seats reserved for you," said Kuniharu.

"Arigatou, otou-san," said Yumi.

"Oh, by the way Yumi, what was it that you wanted to ask us?" asked Ayana.

"Ah! Ryoma-kun invited me to go to the newly opened amusement park this weekend. He got some free tickets from his cousin, Nanako-san, and he didn't know who else to invite so he invited me," said Yumi.

"Ah, Momoshiro did mention that he turned down that invitation," said Tezuka.

"This weekend?" asked Kuniharu.

"I see no problem with it. Ryoma-kun's a good boy and I trust him enough to take care of Yumi," said Ayana.

"All right, as long as he's the one taking you. Be sure to bring your mobile phone so I can call to check up on you," said Kuniharu.

"Try not to come home late too," said Tezuka.

"Hai! Arigatou, okaa-san, otou-san to onii-chan," said Yumi. (A/N: in Japanese they use 'to' to signify as the conjunction 'and' ^_^ just to clear things up regarding this )

* * *

Thanks for reading again everybody! Hope you all enjoyed and take the time to click that REVIEW button there. Yes there. She's just waiting for you to bring the cursor there and . Anyhoo, please join the contest! All entries will be reviewed personally by Ysah-chan. A background about your entries will also be good. :)


	16. Chapter 14

Hi everyone! It's been a while since the last post. I'm trying to manage my schedule so I can make more time for writing. There aren't any Yumi fan arts yet so I'm moving the contest aside. I guess we're all busy these days. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this short chapter. I intended to make a much longer one, but extending this just didn't feel right so I decided to leave it here.

A big thanks to all of you who read, specially to those who took the time to read and review!

**Yay HEYO YO-YO**

haha! I laughed half the time I was reading your review. And yes I'm also waiting for HP7 part 1! *squeals~!* I'm going to watch it with one of my bffs on the 20th since it's showing on the 18th of Nov, here in the Philippines. I'm excited!

**Unknown player**

Thanks for the comment on its cuteness. Yes I know Tezuka is OOC. Most characters here are OOC. Well, considering that this is just a fanfic and I am not Konomi Takeshi-sama, characters would definitely turn out as OOC eventually. Thanks for taking the time to review although I sensed that you were irked by the way I have written this fic.

**dhione26 **

thanks! here's the new chapter! i'll try to update again soon :)

**invisible-gurl**

hehe. i don't have an older brother so i'm not quite sure how tezuka would turn out as overprotective, but i guess my ideas worked :D yes. clueless Yumi is clueless. hahaha.

**lovelyanimeangel**

awww...i'm really touched by what you just said dear! Before writing this, I didn't even think anyone would take the time to read it. you could still send an entry for the contest, though it is on hold at the moment.

To everyone wondering the contest details were posted at the previous chapter's Author's notes section (top part)

Disclaimer: _Tenisu no Oujisama_otherwise known as The Prince of Tennis is not a property of Ysah-chan the authoress because if it was, Fuji would be a girl and he'd be dating a certain captain (knock your heads off and think of who that captain is. Oh and yes I read YAOI.) It is by the awesome Konomi Takeshi-sama. Other characters mentioned are of Ysah-chan's wicked mind and are not in any way related to a living or non-living person. Any similarities to whoever person you meet that seems like they are from my story is purely coincidental. I'm pretty sure they all just popped out of my head. ^_^

Now then, on with the story~!

Chapter 14

"Wow! This place looks amazing!" said Yumi as they were walking.

"Nanako-san said the tickets are in a ride-all-you-can form so we can try out all of the rides here if you want," said Ryoma.

"Yeah, but I'm sure that there are some rides that we won't be able to try out," said Yumi.

"Why's that?" asked Ryoma.

"Height issues, my friend, you're only two inches taller than me but you're still qualified in the midget tennis player division, according to Fuji-senpai," Yumi grinned.

"I was sure you heard that from that sadist. Fuji-senpai's always teasing other people," said Ryoma.

"Yeah, but he's a really great guy once you get to know him better. He just happens to enjoy seeing all of your reactions when you drink Inui juice," said Yumi.

"You don't say," said Ryoma sarcastically.

"Anyway, does Inui juice really taste that bad? I haven't tried and all of you tend to kill it from Inui-senpai's hands before I get even close to it so I'd have to assume that it's that terrible," asked Yumi.

"It tastes like molten socks used during a flash flood of mud and donkey poo. Basically, it's all plain YUCK," said Ryoma, his face slightly tinted green upon hearing about the drink.

Yumi just giggled and looked at the huge park map in front of her. There were a lot of rides in this amusement park and some really interesting shops as well. According to Ryoma, Nanako would be working today and she was assigned to stay at one of the shops inside the amusement park. They agreed to go and greet her later after trying out some of the rides.

"So, which rides should we try out first?" asked Yumi.

"We should do simple ones first, then those rides that involve water and then the ferris wheel should be the very last. That way, in case we get wet or tired we can rest a bit while we're in the gondola," said Ryoma.

"You seem experienced. Back in America, do you go to amusement parks with your friends?" asked Yumi.

"My mom has an older brother who has two sons. They used to take me with them when I was younger," Ryoma explained.

Unlike when they're in school with their other friends, Ryoma usually talks freely when he's with Yumi. He does the same with Momoshiro but Yumi was more of an exception to his quietness. He enjoyed their friendly banter a lot. Though she says it was a really mean side of him, he openly mentions to her that he always feels like laughing aloud whenever she displays her clumsiness.

"That's some information that Ryuuzaki-san would die to hear, I'm sure," Yumi grinned.

_"Like I'd care about her," _Ryoma muttered in English.

"What?" Yumi asked, her head slightly tilted. Though she has been improving with her English grammar and comprehension, she still manages to get confused with the language whenever it was Ryoma who's talking. Of course, Ryoma has a more American accent that he grew up with since he lived in America. Plus, he talks fast in English compared to when he talks in Japanese, making it even harder for Yumi to catch up whenever he talks in English.

_"I said, like I'd care about her,"_ he repeated and smirked. That irked her a lot.

_"Wo bu dong. Ni yao shuo shenme?"_ (A/N: That's Mandarin for "I don't understand. What are you saying?") Yumi countered, just to annoy her friend.

"Just because you got at A+ in Mandarin, such a nasty trick, Tezuka Yumi-chan. Fine, I said, I don't really care about her," said Ryoma.

"Fine I will cease with my teasing. Let's take a photo as a remembrance of today's trip," said Yumi as she took out a digital camera she brought.

The two went around and tried all the different rides in the same order that Ryoma suggested. They took photos all around the places they went to and even tried taking photos while they were on the rides. By the time they were about to go for lunch, they decided to drop by the store that Nanako-san was working on to thank her for the free tickets. She was assigned to work in a gift shop near one of the rides the two tried earlier.

"Ryoma-san!" said Nanako-san as she saw the two young ones enter the shop.

"Konnichiwa," he muttered in greeting.

"Ah, irrashaimase," said one of Nanako-san's co-workers.

"Come on; let me introduce the both of you. This is my cousin, Echizen Ryoma, and his classmate, Tezuka Yumi-chan. They're both attending Seishuun Gakuen's Junior High Division," said Nanako.

"Ah, it's nice to meet the two of you. I'm Yoshida Mina," said the lady.

"How was your day so far?" asked Nanako-san.

"It was great. Thank you very much for the free tickets, Nanako-san," said Yumi as she bowed.

"It was no problem at all. Go ahead and try out all the rides that you want. There are also some souvenir shops around the park. If ever you need me I'm assigned to work here the whole day," said Nanako-san.

"We're going for lunch in a bit. Yumi-chan just wanted to look for some souvenirs that she could bring home for her mom," said Ryoma.

"Ah, do you need any help, Yumi-san?" asked Nanako-san.

"I was thinking of getting those potholders. (A/N: Yeah some theme parks here in the Philippines sell potholders in their gift shops XD ) The one she uses got burned the other day," said Yumi.

"All right," said Nanako-san.

Yumi paid for the potholders and then kept it inside her backpack. She was heading to where Ryoma was waiting when Nanako's other co-workers came out from the storage. They were all swooning and saying stuff like _"They look so adorable!" _or _"So young and so cute!" _while she and Ryoma were looking so clueless about everything.

"Ano…" she muttered.

"Ah, Yumi-san, my co-workers are wondering if they could take a photo of the two of you," said Nanako-san.

"Eh? What for?" she asked.

"We just want some souvenirs," Yoshida-san smiled.

"Is that okay?" Yumi asked Ryoma.

"I guess. I have a feeling they won't let us out unless we do it anyway," said Ryoma.

A couple of cellphone clicks and flashes later, the two finally said goodbye. Nanako led them out of the shop; she then whispered something to Ryoma.

"I heard uncle is planning on following you. Be sure to keep an eye out. I'm pretty sure he's just lurking somewhere around the park," she whispered.

"Ah, I'll keep an eye out," said Ryoma out loud.

Yumi just blinked; not really understand why Ryoma said that. She was soon stirred away from the shop and was led to one of the cafés that they saw earlier. Ryoma called the waiter and asked for some menus. After the two ordered, they just waited for their orders and relaxed. Yumi took some photos while they were waiting; mostly of a blank-faced Ryoma who kept telling her to stop.

"We should come back here again," said Yumi.

"Huh?" Ryoma asked, surprised and yet glad about what she just said.

"Why? Aren't you enjoying this?" asked Yumi.

"I am. I was just mildly surprised, that's all," said Ryoma.

"I'm definitely having fun and I really enjoyed spending the day with you," Yumi smiled innocently.

"I'm glad," said Ryoma, his face slightly tinted with a blush.

"We should really come back again," said Yumi.

"Hn," he nodded.

"I'm pretty sure the others will enjoy coming here as well. We should bring them too," she said honestly.

Ryoma almost face-palmed himself with what she just said. Of course she doesn't mean going back here alone with him again. It was fun; it definitely was, but the sort of enjoyment she was feeling was still not on par with how he was feeling it right now. Unlike how his senpai-tachi tells him, he isn't really that clueless at all. Right now, he'd say that Yumi's the ultimate clueless person in the club, after him that is.

"We should ask the senpai-tachi if we could celebrate our party Christmas here," Yumi suggested.

"Oh, yeah September is ending soon and then we only have a few months more before winter vacation," said Ryoma.

"Yeah, but that's only ten days," said Yumi.

"Which reminds me; I'm leaving for the US on the 23rd of December so I'm not really sure if I can attend the Christmas party," Ryoma explained.

"Eh? What for? Are you going on a tournament or something?" asked Yumi.

"No silly, we're celebrating my birthday and Christmas there," said Ryoma.

"Ah, which means I have to give your gifts in advance," said Yumi.

"You don't have to get me anything," said Ryoma.

"Don't be silly. We're good friends and we owe each other gifts for being good friends to each other. Or at least that's how one of my old friends puts it," said Yumi.

"From your old school?" asked Ryoma.

"Yeah, Sayaka-san was quite a weirdo but I guess she's just trying to say that giving gifts on Christmas and birthdays are ways to simply put words like '_thank you for being my friend' _into tangible gifts," Yumi explained.

"I've never heard stories about which school you came from. Even your admirers at school are wondering," said Ryoma.

"It's a long story," said Yumi.

"Really? How long?" asked Ryoma.

"Long enough to tell stories of three lives who were once part of the living," Yumi said softly.

"That's deep. I guess I should just wait for you to tell me about it then," said Ryoma.

"It's a complicated story but you'll understand; in time," said Yumi.

Their orders came a little while later and they ate in amiable silence, something they were accustomed to since 1. Ryoma was quiet in nature and 2. Yumi lived with a big brother who's quiet in nature but almost related to a wooden block by many. They enjoyed a healthy slice of cake each for dessert afterwards before heading off to try the last few rides in their list. Yumi took pictures of both of them on each ride; one of the operators offered to take a photo of the two of them on one of the rides too.

"Are you tired?" asked Ryoma as they were sitting side by side in the gondola. The ferris wheel was the last in their list.

"A little bit. I really enjoyed today, though," said Yumi as she fished out a gummy bear from the candy bag she bought earlier.

"Your teeth are going to rot if you keep eating that," said Ryoma.

"I'm a girl. These are gummy bears. Do the math," said Yumi as she popped another one to her mouth.

He shook his head and just looked out at the magnificent view outside. It wasn't exactly romantic because the sun has yet to set but it was his dose of romance in a way. He was with someone he liked, alone, in a romantic place but the person was just as clueless about his feelings as he was about Atobe and his unusual love for himself.

"This isn't exactly romantic, isn't it? I mean, the sun hasn't even set, but it is nice," said Yumi.

"What does Tezuka Yumi know about romance?" asked Ryoma.

"Nothing, I guess. All the things I know about are all from movies and the television," she giggled.

"I knew it," said Ryoma.

"Well, that's what most people would expect of us right?" said Yumi.

"What do you mean?" asked Ryoma.

"We're twelve. Even if we're about to hit puberty, we're still considered as kids. So most people would think; adults mostly, that we're incapable of understanding such feelings and emotions," said Yumi.

"That's true, I guess. We're treated like we're all innocent," said Ryoma.

"Yeah, but we aren't as clueless as they all say. Not all the time, but we understand some of it," said Yumi as she placed her candy bag back in her bag.

"Hn," he hummed as he leaned back.

Somehow what they talked about made him understand a lot of things and it gave him a bit of courage too. Yumi was leaning on her seat as well, while looking out on the other side of the gondola. Ryoma slid his left hand on Yumi's right hand and held it gently before looking out at the other side of the gondola. He didn't know how Yumi reacted with what he did. He was pretty sure he felt her hand twitch for a bit before it relaxed again. He was sure of one thing though, they were both scarlet red when they got off the gondola.

Knowing that his dad was probably waiting for a chance to jump in on them, Ryoma insisted that they take their afternoon snacks at the ice cream parlor inside the park. They ordered parfaits and sat beside each other while waiting for their orders. The silence wasn't tensed but it wasn't that amiable either. There was a sense of awkwardness in it that both of them couldn't explain.

"We're still kids and we don't understand everything yet," Ryoma spoke suddenly.

"What?" asked Yumi.

"We're kids and we don't have the mature brains of adults, but like you said, we're not as naïve and gullible as they say we are," said Ryoma.

"I don't get where this is going," said Yumi.

"They say kids have the most honest feelings and thoughts in the world. Though they criticize us by saying we're too innocent for our own good, I believe it when adults say we're honest whenever we express our true feelings," Ryoma just went on, completely ignoring what Yumi just said. "I'm a kid," he continued.

After hearing Ryoma say all of those things, Yumi somehow understood what he meant. She's always heard that from the elderly people that she's met, from the past until now. Children have the truest of all feelings in the whole world because they never lie, or rather, feelings don't lie.

"I'm a kid too," she whispered, while they were walking out of the amusement park.


	17. Chapter 15

New chapter is finally up! Whew! I hope this time I've actually updated faster than the last time. I wasn't working so busily this time around so I had enough time to actually think about this chapter and write it. The next chapter is already on the way too! It'll be a really exciting and long one so please look forward to that.

Big thanks to all who read the last chapter! And a special thanks to these people who spent time reading and reviewing my work.

**kyoya-sama**

Writers really don't hate that, we actually love it! Because, when we hear/read people say UPDATE, that means we really do have readers

**Aisian lover**

hi! thanks for loving the story. I tried sending you the chapter as a message but an error comes up everytime. I'm actually planning on posting this fic on another site so you might want to watch out for that in case you still haven't read chapter 6 yet.

**Yayz HEYO YO-YO**

I watched it during the first day of showing here in the Philippines! It was soooooo good! I just find it weird that people say it's somewhat incomplete...well..it actually is right? haha. It's only the part1 after all.

Having a Yumi exclusive anime with POT would be really awesome! haha! I'm working on a Yumi fanart of my own. will link it when I get to finish it.

**lovelyanimeangel**

Thanks so much for reading again! I was squealing most of the time I wrote that chapter. please do send an entry,it's still open after all. ^_^

**invisible-gurl**

you'll get the whole picture in this chapter. I know it looks a bit random but my head is so out of it that I just wrote what was running through my mind.

**Coco96 **

it was so weird writing something romantic for twelve-year olds. they're practically teenagers but still, it's still hard to write stuff like this. anyhoo, do read on. it'll soon be exciting!

Disclaimer: _Tenisu no Oujisama_otherwise known as The Prince of Tennis is not a property of Ysah-chan the authoress because if it was, Fuji would be a girl and he'd be dating a certain captain (knock your heads off and think of who that captain is. Oh and yes I read YAOI.) It is by the awesome Konomi Takeshi-sama. Other characters mentioned are of Ysah-chan's wicked mind and are not in any way related to a living or non-living person. Any similarities to whoever person you meet that seems like they are from my story is purely coincidental. I'm pretty sure they all just popped out of my head. ^_^

Now then, on with the story~!

**Chapter 15 – Yuudan Sezu ni Ikkou**

One mistake that Ryoma made that day was when he let his guard down. He was so focused with what he just heard from Yumi that he completely forgot what his captain has taught him.

_ Yudan Sezu ni Ikkou._

'Darn it, Ryoma! Have you learned nothing?' he mentally scolded himself as he and Yumi were currently sitting at his house's living room, waiting for his parents.

Just after Yumi said her answer, his old man jumped out of the bushes outside of the park gates and ambushed that two. It was like a whirlwind of sorts. Before he realized it, they were already sitting at their family car's back seat and his dad was already, dangerously, speeding towards their home. He was glad that his mom had the foresight to contact the Tezuka household and inform Yumi's parents, but at the moment, he was still mentally debating whether he should push through with this unexpected dinner invitation by his parents or if he should pull Yumi out of the house and run as fast as they can. He wasn't worried by his mom; after all, Echizen Rinko was sane enough to be a lawyer, but a bit questionable since he married the former tennis pro.

"Ah, shonen, your mother said dinner will be ready in a few minutes. You should take your lovely girlfriend to the dining room now," said Echizen Nanjirou in between sniggers.

In Ryoma's opinion, he'd rather give up his favorite tennis racket and brand new tennis shoes in place of this situation. Of course it was nice of his mother to consider inviting Yumi; it was definitely nice to spend a lot more time with her than what they planned originally, but going to his house automatically entails the presence of a certain perverted monk slash former tennis pro.

"Quit sniggering, oyaji," he muttered as he ushered Yumi past his dad.

"I take care of you for almost thirteen years and this is the kind of treatment you give your old man?" the man scratched his unshaved chin.

"I wouldn't be talking like this to you if only you looked presentable enough," said Ryoma.

"Ah! So that's how it is! You feel humiliated in front of your pretty little date? Ah gomen ne! Ryoma-kun! I'll go change and try to look as handsome as you," the old monk said aloud as he walked towards a room.

"Sorry about that, my family's not as normal as most would think of it," Ryoma muttered.

"It's okay," said Yumi.

"Don't worry about what oyaji's saying; I mean the 'girlfriend' thing that he keeps calling you. I know I somehow told you my feelings indirectly but, you don't have to answer right away," Ryoma explained.

"I understand what you mean, plus I'm not quite sure about it myself," said Yumi.

"And I'm pretty sure your brother will have my hide once he found out," said Ryoma.

"He won't but he'll probably have Fuji-sempai torture you ad infinite," said Yumi.

"Yeah," he said awkwardly.

"But this shouldn't bother anything, okay?" said Yumi.

"What do you mean?" Ryoma asked as they sat down the dinner table.

"I mean, we're still best friends and we'll always stay like that no matter what happens. If I accept your feelings or not, we'll still remain good friends like always, right?" Yumi explained sincerely.

"Of course," said Ryoma.

Dinner began after a few minutes later. It wasn't like the dinner that Yumi had at the Tezuka house. There, it would always be calm and quiet, the exact opposite of how the Echizen family spends every meal they have together. Though they all have equal servings of the food; Rinko insisted on this system since her husband and son seems to always get on each others' nerves when one has more than the other, there always seems like a battle for something.

"No fair, shonen! Give me that last piece of shrimp!" said Nanjiroh as he stood up and tried to get his chopsticks past Ryoma.

"Yadda. You have your own," said Ryoma.

"Nanjiroh! Ryoma! Will you please quit it with this attitude of yours? We have a guest!" said Rinko.

"Daijoubu, Rinko-san, it's not that new to me anyway," said Yumi.

"Ah, have you seen them like this before?" asked Rinko.

"Iie, Ryoma often fights over food with Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai so I see them like that a lot," said Yumi.

"Ah, though he's small like that, my Ryoma does have a very healthy appetite. He's about thirteen already so I'm hoping this appetite of his will help him get a little higher," said Rinko.

"Okaa-san, that's like saying you have a dwarf for a son," said Ryoma, making Nanjiroh laugh boisterously.

"That's not what I mean honey, Mama just wants you to grow into a healthy boy," said Rinko.

"Hey Rinko, stop babying him, he's old enough to have a girlfriend so stop with this mollycoddling," said Nanjiroh.

"Ah, but my baby boy is and will always be my baby boy. It's your fault my other son is off who-knows-where so let me spoil my other son," said Rinko.

"You have another son?" Yumi wondered aloud.

"Ah, I'll tell you about him later on," said Ryoma.

"Oh? She must be really special then, for you to actually confide to her about your brother," said Nanjiroh.

"Nanjiroh," Rinko growled at the man.

_Sunday_

Yumi didn't come home that late last night but she did get a bit of scolding from her older brother. She kept remembering his words in her head even after he had finished. Apparently, Tezuka was the only one who didn't know she was to come home a bit later than planned because he was at school doing some Council work with some of the other officers. He wasn't really angry, but he was a bit cross upon realizing that he got home an hour earlier than his sister did.

"Enjoy your day-off Mayi-san," said Yumi as she waved at her nanny's retreating back.

Mayi-san spends most of the week at their house for work but on Sundays she was given a day-off. She usually leaves on Saturday evenings but today she opted to leave this morning after breakfast. Yumi's pretty close to the woman since she was only in her late twenties. During schooldays she'd help Yumi with fixing her hair or they would simply chat after Yumi finishes her homework. She was more of a surrogate big sister than a nanny.

"Do you have any assignments for tomorrow, Yumi?" asked Ayana as they were in the TV room.

"I finished doing them last Friday and I handed in my projects in advance so I could get extra credit," said Yumi.

"That's very good, Yumi. If you keep up you might get into the top of the class," said Ayana.

"If only English and Physical Education was as easy as reading Mystery novels. I got a B minus on my . practical exam," said Yumi.

"What was the practical exam for?" asked Ayana.

"Basketball," Yumi pouted and lay down on the couch.

"That makes sense," Tezuka entered the room, his face totally stoic as he sat down at the end of the couch.

"Okaa-san, onii-chan's making fun of me," Yumi pouted some more.

"What did the doctor tell you during physical exam day?" asked Tezuka; reminding her about the recent physical exam that all of the first years were given two weeks ago.

"The doctor said that I'm thin and too short for my age too. But it doesn't make sense! I eat regularly. I drink my vitamins regularly. I join tennis exercise in the morning and I sleep a lot." said Yumi.

"Don't think too much about it. Try to ask Momoshiro to teach you with basketball. He's one of the best players in his year," said Tezuka.

"Maybe I need to strengthen my bones and drink a lot of milk like Ryoma-kun. Inui-senpai makes him drink two bottles a day," said Yumi.

"But you drink more than two a day, honey. You drink two glasses in the morning with your breakfast, you bring a bottle to school for break time when you eat your cookies or pastries, and when you come home you also drink milk while doing your homework. I don't think it's with the lack of calcium or milk," said Ayana.

"Okaa-san makes it sound like you're a cheese factory, what with all the milk you've been taking in," Tezuka muttered.

The younger Tezuka sat up and pouted at her older brother. She's been getting really into tennis lately and her lack of strength makes it a big disadvantage even when it's the first years' she's been playing with. Inui did offer for her to test his Inui's Deluxe Bone and Muscle Strengthening Juice but the whole bubbling jug was flushed down the toilet even before Inui could hand it to her.

"Maybe we should visit our family doctor to see if there's something we can do to help you," said Ayana.

"I've only been drinking my new vitamins for a week now so let's wait and see first before we go and visit Hataro-sensei," said Yumi.

"All right then. Why don't you go and check if your father needs help with anything, Yumi? I'll go to the garden and check on grandfather's plants for a bit," said Ayana.

"Ah, I'll go feed the koi," said Tezuka.

Tezuka headed to the koi pond while carrying the fish food. He doesn't usually do this, especially since he has school and a lot of activities to handle as a captain of the tennis club and as the student council president. But today was an exception since his grandfather was still away on a visit to Kyuushu. Kunikazu usually did the feeding for the fish and the tending of his plants, especially his bonsais, but he was off on a friendly visit to Kyuushu with some of his other retired police friends. He would be returning either in the evening of Sunday or the following morning.

After giving out the food, Tezuka's mind drifted on the stationery he had neatly folded and kept in his study table's drawer. It was a love letter that he got yesterday after some uneventful occurrences in school. The council office's door was busted; apparently someone tried to break in and ended up breaking the doorknob instead. They had to wait for the property custodian and the maintenance head to get there before they could open the office. After which, they had to file some papers regarding what happened first before they could proceed with the day's agenda. It was such a big hassle that Tezuka didn't even notice that they exceeded the time limit they had in their schedule. Reluctantly, he adjourned the meeting and set another one this Monday. They had to finalize the plans for the school festival by Monday.

What sent his mind in frenzy wasn't really because of what happened that day though. It was when he got the letter that he snapped. It wasn't really because he got the letter but rather because of WHOM the letter was from. It was from a certain _Mizuno Tenshi_ from Fuji's photography club. Of all the confessions that he's received, this one was the only one that actually caught his attention.

"Onii-chan," he got a hug from the back, distracting his thoughts. He figured it was his younger sister, knowing her antics when she was home.

"What is it, Yumi?" he asked, not really minding that Yumi was trying (A/N: although failingly) to shake him to move.

"Let's go get some ice cream!" she finally stopped.

"Who said you can have sweets?" asked Tezuka.

"Mou, I asked Otou-san already so please, pretty please. Can we go and buy some?" said Yumi as she faced him.

"No. It's still too early for ice cream." said Tezuka.

"Pretty please," said Yumi, giving her brother her puppy-dog-eyes look.

"Sorry that won't work on me, Yumi. If you want to have ice cream, wait until after lunch," said Tezuka.

"Fine," she pouted and then looked at all the fishes in their man made pond.

Meanwhile, Tezuka's mind was drifting back to the letter again. It wasn't a particularly sweet or romantic letter, which was probably the reason it caught his attention. It was direct to the point and very bluntly put.

"_Tezuka-kun, _

_ I like you very much. Would you go out with me? I'll wait for your answer._

_ Mizuno Tenshi"_

It was a wonder why the girl even bothered to put it into perfumed stationery when she didn't really elaborate much on what she wanted to say. If it were his usual eco-friendly self, Tezuka would've preferred if it was said in person rather than having a piece of paper wasted like that. But upon coming to terms that it was in fact, Mizuno Tenshi who wrote the letter, talking to her face to face became the last option he had in mind. He found the girl rather attractive and very witty; and she's apparently one of the most talented in the photography club too. During certain instances, he'd sneak glances at her when they were in the same area. It was such a weird feeling for Tezuka.

The day went on as they would usually spend it. He ended up bringing Yumi to the ice cream parlor after a few more tries from the younger ones' part. In the end, even he fell for the puppy-dog-eyes scheme that Yumi usually played when she wanted to eat something. Other than that it didn't really work for anything else. "Couldn't you wait until after lunch?" asked Tezuka.

"Otou-san said it was okay because I ate breakfast anyway. It wouldn't upset my stomach," Yumi smiled as she took another spoonful of her banana split.

"That really doesn't answer my question, Yumi," said Tezuka.

"Only for today, onii-chan, I only want ice cream this early for today. I have some stuff to think about so I wanted to eat something sweet to distract me," Yumi explained.

"Hn," Tezuka only hummed.

While Yumi was finishing up her banana split with three scoops of ice cream, lots of chocolate fudge, marshmallows and chopped nuts, Tezuka ordered a cup of coffee. He took one of his German novels with him so while waiting for Yumi, he just went ahead and read the book. He liked it a lot when he's reading. It was like he's being taken away to another era or another world. This time around he's reading one of Theodor Fontane's books called Effi Briest, a bit different from the usual genre he read but it was interesting so he went ahead and read it.

"Yumi-chan!" said a familiar voice.

When Tezuka looked up, it was none other than Mizuno Tenshi, writer of that letter he received yesterday. She didn't seem any different though, not like she was even affected that he's there with Yumi, or maybe she didn't notice him.

"Tenshi-senpai, it's nice to see you!" said Yumi as she stood up.

"What are you two doing here? Isn't it a bit early to have dessert?" Tenshi asked.

"I begged my onii-chan to bring me here. How about you? What are you doing here?" said Yumi.

"Oh, it's my younger brother's birthday today and I'm buying ice cream for the party," Tenshi explained.

"Say Happy Birthday to Taro-kun for me," said Yumi.

"Ah, I will. Tezuka-san, I trust you got my note yesterday. Do take your time. I'm not forcing you or anything like that and don't worry, I'm not taking advantage of your little sister," said Tenshi.

"Ah,"

"What are you talking about, senpai?" asked Yumi.

"I'll tell you about it at home Yumi. Go and finish your ice cream," said Tezuka.

By the looks of it, even with the captain's stoicness, Tenshi was certainly unfazed by it all. All those years of having that strict look, someone has finally seen through it at some point. Fuji's an exception for this of course; he's not called the _tensai_ for nothing. For now, Tezuka must find out the reason why he feels all weird whenever he faces Mizuno Tenshi. It's a foreign feeling that he's not going to put up with that easily.


	18. Chapter 16

Hi guys and gals! AGAIN, sorry for my super late update. I've been handling some stuff lately and my brain's getting fried; what with the pressure of finding a job and what not. Anyway, I've been on a writing spree and cleaning spree lately so here's chapter 16 for you. I've been reading loads of yaoi manga lately but it happily didn't affect my brain as much as I expected it.

Special thanks to the following people who gave this fic time and even went through the trouble of reviewing it ^_^. My heartfelt thanks to all of you.

**Ixxxmissxxxu**- I'm trying to consider your suggestion. I have one in mind but I'm still working it out in my head.

**Aisian lover**- no biggie. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

**Angel's angel**- stoicness is great for Tezuka but I want to imagine some other emotions in him.

**Dhione26**- yep romance is needed. But let's wait and see how everything turns out kay? Hehehe

**Dove tree**- thanks! Continue to read and review this fic please ^_^ hehehe

**Invisible-gurl**- of course nanjirou's always expected to screw things up. I've never written a love letter before but I could just imagine how Tezuka looked when he read something as blunt as that. Ehehehe.

**Coco96**- yeah, hopefully they all turn out happy. ^_^

**Midori-emmi**- you're a new reader! Thanks for reading my fic and thanks for reviewing.

Okay, chapter 17 is already halfway finished, expecting it to be up and posted either by Saturday 10pm (Manila time) or Sunday afternoon (again, Manila time). This is one unusual chapter, hope you like it.

Disclaimer- Well, clearly Prince of tennis isn't mine. If I owned it, YAOI will happen.

Chapter 16 – Photos and worrisome events

It was already Monday and the Photography club was having a meeting inside their clubroom. All in all there are only twelve members in the club, three of which are officers and seniors respectively. Since Seishuun Gakuen is a lot more popular for their tennis and other sports clubs, students tend to direct their attention to those clubs more. Clubs like Photography, Ikebana, English Literature and other non-sport related clubs have fewer members since majority of the school population favor joining sport-related clubs.

"All right, another part of today's agenda, we would now be discussing about this year's Photography club participation for the school festival. In lieu of our first plan, which is to have a coffee table book made, we will be having a photo exhibit and a photo essay competition," Fuji explained. There were excited sounds heard from the room.

"For the photo exhibit, everyone will be participating. You will all select three photos each from your portfolio or from your artworks, then you will have them all printed in a big board. The sizes are still undecided but we will choose sizes that won't get too cramped," said the club's treasurer.

"That's right. The sizes of the board will depend on how big the venue will be. Plus, it will also depend on how many pictures will be posted. As for the photo essay competition, you can all join but only five will be chosen for the exhibit during the festival. In short, those five will be the top competitors. We won't be saying what's in store for the winner first, but shachou is already talking to a big sponsor for the prices," Tenshi explained.

"Won't it be too costly, shachou?" asked one of the second years.

"My sister runs a photography shop down town and she's promised to give us a fifty-percent discount if we have all of our photos printed there. The club will cover the payment for the exhibit, but participants of the competition will have to pay for their entries on their own," said Fuji.

"Would there be a theme for the photo essay competition?" Yumi raised her hand.

"Of course, but the theme will only be announced on Wednesday after our club meeting. Submission of entries would be on Saturday during our practice for black and white photography," said Tenshi.

"All right, if there's nothing else, I'll see all of you on Wednesday. Please remember to bring your sample macro shots on that day too. We'll be doing our critiquing for the last activity by then," said Fuji.

After the meeting ended, the rest of the members began leaving the club room. Meetings for the photography club are held before classes began, unlike most of the other clubs, since most members are also members of other extracurricular clubs in the school; like Yumi and Fuji for example. The time of their club meeting is pretty convenient, considering that meetings are usually held at seven in the morning until eight and tennis practice begins at eight and ends around nine since they only really do drills. Most of the actual tennis games begin in the afternoon around three thirty until it ends around five to six in the evening; depending on the training menu that gets decided by Tezuka, Ryuuzaki-sensei, and in this case Inui, since he's not in the regulars and he stands as the team trainer.

"Are you ready, Yumi-chan?" asked Fuji.

"Hai, senpai," said Yumi. She waited until Fuji finished stacking all of the new photographs in his desk drawer before they headed for morning practice.

"Are you going to join the photo essay contest?" asked Fuji.

"I might. It depends if I can maneuver my way well with the theme," said Yumi.

"Well, it would be a delight to see one of your works there, Yumi-chan. You may not be as good in sports but you excel pretty well when it comes to photography," said Fuji.

"Mou, senpai, I don't really know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult to my bodily-kinesthetic intelligence," said Yumi.

"Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, hmm, you read a lot of stuff about Howard Gardner, Yumi-chan. That's part of his Multiple Intelligences theory right?" said Fuji.

"I was thinking that it might explain a bit of why I'm so physically challenged when it comes to sports. Plus reading ten books about him made the librarian so happy I got the Book worm award last week," said Yumi.

"You get free coffee from the café down the road then. I'm really serious, though, Yumi-chan. You should really try and join that competition. The festival is still a good three weeks away, I'm pretty sure you can come up with something," said Fuji.

"I don't know, Fuji-senpai," said Yumi.

"You know, if ever you win, you can use the price to buy your brother a gift for his birthday. Today's only the thirteenth of the month. You have a lot of time. I mean, it isn't like the tennis club's maid and butler café would be too much to handle, right?" said Fuji.

"I'll think about it," said Yumi.

"All right then, come on. We better get going before your brother assigns laps," said Fuji.

When they came to the tennis courts, they sensed that something was amiss. Yes, there were no laps being assigned and there were club members doing their routine activities such as drills and warm ups, but aside from that there was certainly something odd going on near one of the tennis courts. Two familiar figures seemed to be talking, or arguing rather, whilst in front of the other regulars.

"Please continue with your warms up. I'll go and change first then, Fuji-senpai," said Yumi as she walked towards the nearest girls' lavatory.

"We should do that, rather quickly too. I think your brother's arguing with a girl," said Fuji.

"I should hurry then," said Yumi as she walked faster.

When she came out, Ryuuzaki-sensei and the other regulars were around the two who were arguing. It was Tezuka and, to Yumi's surprise, Mizuno Tenshi, her closest female senpai. She had to quickly step in to find out what was happening.

"What's wrong onii-chan?" Yumi asked as she approached her brother.

"Your senpai here is breaking the rules," said Tezuka.

"I certainly did nothing of the sort. I'm not disturbing any of you. Sure, I entered your courts without permission, but I was merely taking pictures of players," said Tenshi, raising an eyebrow.

"You said it yourself, you entered without permission. We are in the middle of training, and you, Mizuno-san are interrupting," said Tezuka, his voice still quite calm

"Please calm down, both of you. I understand your passion with photography, senpai, but you were a bit out of line there. Firstly, non-members of the team are not allowed to come inside the courts unless you are given proper permission to do so. It's not just because you're not a member but it's a safety precaution. It would be bad if you or your camera were hit by one of the balls and I should warn you, the weight of each ball that gets hit by the regulars are very different than usual players who just do it for fun," Yumi explained.

"Yumi-chan's our manager nya! So she knows quite well about them," said Kikumaru.

"Also, if I may add, before you take photos of people, Mizuno-chan, you have to get their permission first. Otherwise what you're doing can be classified as stalking, you know," said Fuji, as he joined.

"Considering that I've confessed to this wooden blockhead of a captain of yours, I guess you could say that yes, I might as well be a stalker. But as of the moment I'm merely taking photos for the upcoming exhibit," Tenshi said boldly.

It certainly got the reaction it deserved. A few rackets and tennis balls were dropped, and almost all of the other tennis club members have stopped doing drills and came to look. There were other onlookers by then too.

"That's a rather bold confession, Mizuno-san," said Fuji.

"I should say so. Come along then, Mizuno-san. If you want to get permission, you'd have to sign a few papers. You can do your picture taking thing that you're doing, this afternoon," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"Sensei?" Tezuka asked.  
"Yes, I'm giving her permission. She'd have a limit of an hour of course," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"I refuse to participate in any of this that she plans on doing. You may take photos of the regulars and other members but do not include me in any of this," said Tezuka, before walking back inside the courts.

"Che, such a killjoy, Tezuka. Well, you heard the man, right? You'd have to make do with all the others," said Ryuuzaki-sensei.

Yumi followed her brother of course, quietly asking if what her senpai said were true. But Tezuka was a bit on edge and in a bad mood to answer her right now. He didn't even notice that she was following him inside the courts if it weren't for the fact that she tripped on a ball that was dropped earlier. He was ridden with guilt when he saw her knee but it was overtaken by his bad mood.

"Yumi-chan, daijobu?" asked Kikumaru.

"Hai, senpai. I'll go and patch it up in the clubroom," said Yumi, wincing a bit.

"Come on, Yumi-chan, I'll help you with it," said Oishi as he escorted the slightly limping Yumi out of the courts.

"What's wrong Tezuka?" asked Fuji.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Have you taken a liking to Mizuno-san? You were quick to forget about other confessions to you but this time it seemed to irk you a lot," said Fuji.

"Continue doing your drills," Tezuka barked out at the others.

"Don't be so grumpy, Tezuka," said Fuji.

"I am not," said Tezuka.

"Then why are you so upset about all of this?" asked Fuji.

"Get back to practice, Fuji," said Tezuka before walking out of the courts.

The others were still squabbling about what they just heard, in the middle of training of course, but they can certainly multitask. While waiting for their turn in a drill Inui was making them do, Ryoma, Fuji and Momo were chatting about how Tezuka reacted. It was quite new, to see their blockhead of a captain show another form of emotion aside from his stoic and icy ones.

"This is the first time, isn't it senpai? Even back then when I was a ball fetcher, I never saw him react any other way," said Momo.

"Looks like it. Oishi might know more since Tezuka talks to Oishi a lot more than he does with me. But more or less I'd say he's affected by this one," said Fuji.

"But isn't she the girl that Yumi-chan invited for that fashion thing she got invited to?" asked Ryoma.

"I think I did hear that from Yumi-chan," said Fuji.

"Speaking of which, how do you think Yumi-chan's taking it?" asked Momo, who looked at their club manager as she was monitoring training.

"She seems…indifferent, at the moment. Or maybe she wants them to get together," said Fuji.

"Not sure," said Ryoma.

"They're quite close you know, Yumi and Mizuno I mean. They spend most of the time together during meetings and workshops," said Fuji.

"Which makes her look up to Mizuno as someone ideal for her brother," said Momo.

"Fat chance, senpai. Yumi's not the type to mess with stuff like this," said Ryoma.

"Let's just keep an eye on them for now. I feel like something's about to happen. I should ask onee-san to read her tarots tonight," said Fuji.

_Lunch time_

Usually, Tezuka was a calm, stoic, and unfazed person, that is, until Mizuno Tenshi wrote him a love letter; if you could even call it that. He would've wanted to concentrate on some very important student council work for the time being but a certain petite girl with a dazzling smile and doe eyes just had to follow him to the student council room. He hoped that by ignoring her it would be obvious that he didn't want to be disturbed but this girl was either too thick-headed or simply too persistent for her own good.

"Oh look, Mizuno-senpai's still waiting for him. She's so persistent," the secretary murmured to his assistant. A lot of people have been whispering around him lately, and it certainly gave him a headache.

"Mizuno-san, I'm busy with council work. If you have anything to say please speak up already, I have very little time to spare at the moment," he said directly, after rereading the same sentence from an information sheet ten times.

"Oh? Wouldn't you like to come and eat lunch first? I made you a bentou you know," said Tenshi as she placed a lunch pack on the table, which incited more murmurings.

"Thank you, but I have my own bentou prepared by my imouto. Now, if there's nothing else, you may leave," said Tezuka.

"You're a difficult one. You should be thankful other people gave time to do something for you," said Tenshi.

"Thank you that you did but this is completely unnecessary," said Tezuka.

"Fine then, I'll go share it with your sister," said Tenshi.

"Leave my sister out of this," he said sternly.

"Oh, right, I did hear that you have this complex regarding your little sister. I'm pretty close to your sister you know," said Tenshi.

"If you're planning on involving my sister consider yourself ignored. I've no intentions in associating myself with opportunists," said Tezuka as he finally seemed to have gotten better concentration now.

"What makes you think I'll use her to get to you? Ah, well anyway, I'll just leave you for now. I seem to have pissed you quite a bit since this morning. See you later," said Tenshi as she left the council room.

Tezuka sighed and unconsciously rubbed his temples. He was developing a mild headache and he was pretty sure he'd have to take some aspirins later. Distractions are inevitable but he really doesn't have time for any at the moment, especially with some things that's been happening around Yumi lately. He's already got his hands full with the council and the tennis club, but lately there've been odd occurrences that have gone unnoticed by his little sister.

It started with something simple, like pebbles in her outdoor school shoes. That time, he was just heading towards the staff office near the shoe cubbies when he noticed some pebbles on the floor. He thought of just putting it back outside when he noticed that amongst all the shoes in the cubbies, his sister's shoes was facing the opposite direction. When checked, there were about ten pebbles on each shoe. A week later, Yumi and a classmate was assigned to get books in the library for reading class. Tezuka was doing the same for theirs and happened to sight a sudden shadow reach for the step ladder and replace it with the rickety and broke one. He didn't see who it was, just a blur of colors. When he saw Yumi reach for the broken step ladder, he immediately approached her and insisted on not using it. Overtook by fear, he took her list and looked for the books himself; not wanting to risk his sister an injury of any sort.

Whoever is doing this to Yumi, he has to find out fast. He or she hasn't done anything else recently, but Tezuka's being extra cautious just to make sure. He's not sure if Yumi already noticed it but she seems to be a bit secretive nowadays. It worries him that whoever this hater is, he or she might do something really bad to her. Thinking about it again just made his growing headache worse.

Afternoon tennis practice was quite tiring, what with Tenshi as another distraction for the players. Tezuka was in a very bad mood at the moment. He was eaten by guilt after seeing Yumi's patched-up knee and at the same time annoyed that even though Tenshi is not taking his photos, the said girl is still sticking close to him every single time she gets the chance.

"You guys sure she isn't just another fan girl?" asked Taka-san.

"Fshuuu, she does seem like one," said Kaidoh.

"How can you be sure, Mamushi? It's not like you have that much fan girls," said Momo.

"Do you want a fight? Baka Momoshiro!" said Kaidoh.

"Ah, but to answer your query Momoshiro, Kaidoh does have fan girls. Eighty percent of them see him as someone very adorable," Inui popped out suddenly, causing Kikumaru to jump.

"Hoooooooooooiiiiiiii!" said Kikumaru.

"Inui! You shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that! It isn't good for the heart," said Oishi.

"A new record, Kikumaru. Congratulations," said Inui, ignoring Oishi pointedly.

"Ah, but Taka-san's quite right, ne? If you look at it in someone else's point of view, she just seems like a fan girl of Tezuka's," said Fuji.

"But she's not like the over obsessed fan girls," Ryoma pointed out.

"You're nya, ochibi. She looks like someone who just wants to make friends or something nya," said Kikumaru.

"Maybe she likes buchou genuinely," said Momoshiro.

"I haven't accumulated enough data on her yet so it's still too early to tell," said Inui.

"Mada mada dane, Inui-senpai," said Ryoma.

"Doushite, ochibi?" asked Kikumaru.

"There's something Inui-senpai doesn't know how to get data of. I'm pretty sure of that," said Ryoma.

"What are you all doing? Get back to practice," Tezuka barked out at their little groupie.

They left the chattering and resumed practice right away. It wasn't good to make Tezuka even madder than he is now. Doing that would only cause them to do more laps later and something even nastier, which of course included another round of Penal-tea from Inui's concoctions. It's still a mystery how Fuji survives those.

"Itai!" they all heard a scream.

"Yumi-chan! Daijobu ka?" they all heard Horio yell out from the other courts, prompting all the others to stop training.

"Get the first aid kit quick!" they all heard Arai call out to one of the freshmen.

The regulars thought Yumi tripped on another ball again. They paled after seeing more blood after the members gave way for Katsuo to pass to get the first aid kit inside the club room. Yumi's palm was bleeding rather badly and it alarmed the regulars, especially Tezuka.

"What happened?" asked Tezuka as he approached Yumi and looked at the bleeding hand.

"Onii-chan," she whimpered, her tears building up from the pain.

"What happened here, Arai?" asked Momo.

"I'm not sure myself. She was just standing there a minute ago and then she picked that racket up. After than she just yelped and we saw her hand bleeding," said Arai as he pointed to a black colored racket lying on the ground.

"Who owns this?"asked Taka-san as he picked it up carefully to inspect it.

"Tezuka!" Oishi called out and pointed at the handle and saw a sharp looking piece of blade embedded on the grip tape. It was still bloodied.

"Senpai, here's the first aid kit!" Katsuo called out and opened the box right away.

"Who would do such a thing?" said Arai, gritting his teeth madly.

"It's odd though," said Kachiro.

"What do you mean?" asked Tezuka.

"That racket wasn't there earlier, senpai. There was no extra racket on the courts earlier because Katsuo-kun and I cleaned this court earlier before practice. It was only when Yumi-chan came in and a group of people passed by when that racket showed up," Kachiro explained.

Seeing how the others were thinking about it, Oishi worked on getting the wound to stop bleeding. It wasn't very deep but it was deep enough to cause a lot of bleeding. The cut was pretty long too. It would be hard for Yumi to write and eat with chopsticks for quite a while. Once it seized bleeding, Oishi put some medicine on the wound then wrapped Yumi's hand with gauze.

"It's obviously set up," said Fuji bluntly.

"But who would do such a thing? And to Yumi-chan too?" asked Taka-san.

"We'll have to figure it out later. Kawamura, could you wrap that up with something so no one else gets hurt. We'll have to keep that as evidence for later," said Tezuka.

"Ah, I will," said Taka-san as he and Kaidoh went to wrap it up.

"Let's talk about this in the clubroom," said Oishi, sensing that there's something else going on.

When they got to the clubroom, Tezuka started to tell them of what he's noticed so far. Everyone was alarmed. Without them noticing it, trouble was brewing badly near Yumi. Kachiro's statement made it clear that the blade on the racket was intended for Yumi. If it were otherwise then why was it that the racket was only seen after Yumi entered the courts? Someone, possibly from the group that passed the courts, planted that blade on the grip tape and dropped it on purpose so Yumi would get it and get injured in the process.

"If this has been going on then why didn't you tell us right away, Tezuka?" asked Oishi.

"I wanted to make sure first. But right now it is clear that someone is targeting Yumi," said Tezuka.

"This is dangerous. Are we even sure the person is from Seigaku?" said Fuji.

"I don't know. But first, Yumi, you have to tell me honestly, are there other occurrences like this that happened to you? You've been acting very oddly these past few days, as if you're hiding something," said Tezuka, while looking at Yumi.

"I...ah.." she stuttered.

"Don't be scared, nya, Yumi-chan. You're our aka-chan here so you can be honest with us, nya," said Kikumaru.

"Are my hunches correct, Yumi?" Tezuka asked.

"There were three other incidents. The first two were not as bothersome, but the third was," said Yumi.

"What happened in all three incidents, Yumi-chan? You have to tell us everything that happened," said Fuji.

"It was after that tournament with Fudomine. I thought I've been getting forgetful and misplacing things but in the end I found out someone was actually taking my things. So far I've lost five things already." Yumi explained

"What are those things Yumi-chan?" asked Taka-san.

"Eto, the bag charm from Fuji-senpai, the foldable fan from Eiji-senpai, my new Usa-chan pen from Oishi senpai, the new notebook Inui-senpai gave me, and the new water bottle you gave me last week, senpai," Yumi answered Taka-san's question.

"Now that's certainly odd," said Fuji.

"Yeah, it's like the culprit is only after the things that we gave Yumi-chan, nya. What other things happened Yumi-chan?" said Eiji.

"My shoe cubby always has pebbles and trash now and someone ripped my head cap for swim class," said Yumi.

"Is that all there is?" asked Tezuka.

Everyone caught Yumi mumble something but it wasn't very clear. She was looking at her bandaged up hand on her lap blinking as if she was trying to stop her tears from falling. Her other hand reached for her book bag and took out a crumpled piece of paper from the outer pocket. There were numerous scribbles, and a much smaller crumpled piece of paper inside. Oishi took it and smoothed both papers out to see what was written.

"Tezuka!" Oishi gasped as he turned the paper so everyone could read what was written:

**"Get lost filthy scum! Get away from the regulars unless you want something bad to happen to you. We know something you're not telling," **

"WAAAAAAAAAAH~!" yelled Eiji.

"Who would do this?" asked Momoshiro.

"Someone who's no good obviously, fshuuuuuuuu…" Kaidoh hissed.

"This isn't good Tezuka. Even if this is just a student, whatever happened today proved that he or she is capable of something more than just mere pebbles in Yumi's shoes and threat notes," said Oishi.

"If it was this bad, why didn't you tell me right away, Yumi?" asked Tezuka as he stood in front of his sister.

"Demo, I didn't want to cause you any trouble," said Yumi.

"Daijobu, Yumi-chan, we'll figure something out," said Taka-san.

"That's right, nya! We'll come to protect you! Ne, ne, Ochibi?" said Kikumaru as he pulled Ryoma into one of his death hugs.

"K-kikumaru-senpai!" Ryoma struggled.

"For the time being, Echizen, you're the one who spends more time with Yumi in school, make sure to keep an eye on her at all times," said Fuji.

"Hai, senpai," said Ryoma.

"And you, Yumi-chan, you have to take good care of yourself. We won't be able to keep track of everyone who gets close to you so you have to be careful yourself. Inui will look into this of course," said Oishi.

"Ah, I'll make sure to collect more data. But right now, the best we could do is wait, and let things unfold on its own," said Inui.

Tezuka knew Yumi wouldn't talk unless he asked more about what happened personally. But she already had a lot to deal with that afternoon, and it didn't look fair if he just bombarded her with questions even if she was already having a hard time. Aside from that, he also had some problems to deal with on his own. Mizuno Tenshi is a very persistent being, too persistent if he had a say on it. What bothers Tezuka is that Tenshi's confession and his confusion just had to come at the wrong time at once. It's hard enough that he's busy with school and club responsibilities, now he has to deal with other problems too.

Once they got home, Ayana was frantic upon seeing her daughter's bandaged hand. Of course, Yumi and Tezuka explained that there was just an accident at school; which wasn't a lie. They evaded all other questions by saying that Yumi was pretty exhausted and had their dinner brought up to Yumi's room instead. There, the two got the chance to talk better.

"Gomen ne, nii-chan. I knew I should've told you earlier," Yumi whispered.

"I understand that you didn't want to cause me any trouble. But you know, Yumi, you'll be causing me a bigger problem if you went on and hid everything like that," said Tezuka.

"Demo, you're so busy with the student council work and the club. And now, Tenshi-senpai seems to be getting on your nerves; I really didn't want to add more to your problems," Yumi explained.

"But if you continue keeping it from me, I wouldn't know what to do in case anything bad happens. I can always go back to doing council and club works, but I can't turn back time to protect you," said Tezuka as he helped cut up a piece of chicken for Yumi.

"Gomen ne, nii-chan," said Yumi.

"Ah, it's all right now. Come on, eat," said Tezuka as he began eating his own food.


	19. Chapter 17

This update was late by a few hours, but posted on the same day anyway. hehehe..next chapter will probably up by next week. it depends on what happens with me this week so let's hope i don't get into any more weird frenzies. disclaimer- tenisu no oujisama will never ever be mine..:(

Chapter 17- Plans

_Monday_

The Seishuun Gakuen school festival is fast approaching and extracurricular and co curricular clubs have been very busy preparing for their stands. Likewise, classes have also begun basic setups since there are only two weeks left. First years have simpler stands and booths; most ranging from food stands to souvenir shops. Yumi and Ryoma's class is having a food stand where they sell pastries and drinks though a bit less complicated than the tennis club's butlers and maid café. Though, they were all glad that the said plan would only take place during the first two days of the school festival, the last day being a tennis demonstration and challenge by the regulars.

"All right, we should do the shopping for ingredients three to four days before the festival starts. Of course it will still depend on the group where you're assigned," said the class president.

"How about for the classroom setup and designs, when should we buy our materials?" asked one of the group leaders.

"Those should be bought this week. You should also begin making the easier setups by this week so that you can focus on the rest afterwards," said their homeroom teacher.

"All right, those in different groups should start their meeting as well. Today's free period and sensei allowed us to use it for our group planning," said the class president.

"Hai," said everyone before going to their designated groups.

There are four sections in the first year level, all ranging from class A to D; class A being the top class. It was still a big question as to how Horio Satoshi came to this class but seeing that his grades aren't as flunked as his tennis skills are, his friends decided to just skip asking him. Back to the matter at hand then, Horio, Katsuo, Kachiro, Yumi and Ryoma are all in one group, Katsuo being the leader of the group since he's more adept to cooking than most of them.

"What are we assigned to make again?" asked Horio.

"Horio-kun you should pay more attention. There are only a few weeks away from the festival," said Katsuo.

"If you mess this up I'll tell buchou to ask Inui-senpai to give you penal-tea," Ryoma muttered.

"EEEEEH? You wouldn't!" said Horio.

"In any case, you should still keep your head in place. We have to calculate how much ingredients we need and decide where we shall cook it," said Kachiro.

"To bake it you mean," Katsuo corrected.

"Ah, well the ones we did last time was a good number already, according to nii-chan. I also asked okaa-san to take a look at our list of ingredients and to calculate how much we need," said Yumi.

"All right then, but I'm not so good in baking yet so maybe we should try baking sometime this week first. The no-bake cheesecake is all right but the chocolate cake is a bit harder," said Katsuo.

"Where shall we try doing it then?" asked Ryoma.

"I don't have an oven at home," said Katsuo.

"Me too," said Kachiro.

"I'll ask okaa-san if we can do it this weekend. It'll be good since she wants to see the regulars again, I'll invite them along too," said Yumi.

"Ah, demo, Yumi-chan, we only have ingredients for a few people," said Kachiro.

"Daijobu, I've got the ingredients covered. We have enough ingredients at home," said Yumi.

"All right, let's do it this weekend then," said Horio.

_Lunch…_

Considering that morning practice isn't enough for planning, the tennis club members all agreed on having a group lunch inside the tennis courts is the best way to have time for planning the club's festival participation. This is the first time that the tennis club is participating as a butler and maid café and it made everyone hyped up. Originally, Yumi was the only one who would be the maid but eventually, they came up with an idea to invite some of Yumi's friends from her old school to come as maids. It was an easy agreement seeing that she only asked four of them to come and help out. The four of them would be coming to visit Seishuun on the thirtieth of the month; they'd be staying over at the Tezuka residence until the festival is over. Ryuuzaki-sensei made arrangements for them so that they won't leave any pending responsibilities in their school.

"Arai-senpai, here's some omelet I made this morning. You can share them with the other senpai-tachi," said Yumi as she handed Arai one layer of her big bentou box before heading back to the regulars.

"Ah, Yumi-chan went all out with making lunch today," said Oishi.

"Doesn't your hand hurt anymore?" asked Taka-san.

"Iie, it's a lot better now. Onii-chan and I went to the drug store right away and bought some medicine for it the day after I got it," Yumi explained.

"You've been applying religiously ever since, ne? That's good Yumi-chan," said Oishi.

"Ah, Eiji, here's some Anago," said Taka-san as he placed a platter of sushi on the table.

"Saaannkkyyuuuu Taka-san!" Eiji said happily.

"Anyway, Tezuka, I have a question about the attire we're going to use," said Inui.

"Ah, well, I asked otou-sama for some help and he mentioned that there are some butler attires available at one of our theaters. Those will be given to the other members of the club, otou-sama said he has something else planned for the regulars," said Tezuka.

"Eh? Hontou? Otou-san probably has some better ideas," said Yumi.

"Ah, it's great that your dad's very supportive, Tezuka," said Fuji.

"Ah, Yumi's the one who mentioned about the butler and maid café plan though," Tezuka explained.

"How about Yumi-chan, buchou?" asked Momoshiro.

"Ah, what do you mean?" asked Tezuka.

"I think what Momo-senpai means is, what will Yumi-chan and the other four girls be wearing, buchou? Or, where will they be getting those costumes?" asked Ryoma.

"Otou-sama's also decided to handle those for Yumi and her friends," Tezuka explained.

"Sugoi, Tezuka-buchou's father is really amazing. We're lucky that he's willing to help the club with our participation," said Kachiro.

"Our otou-san's the best! You'll meet him when you visit the house this weekend," said Yumi.

"This weekend?" asked Tezuka.

"Ah, we're going to practice baking for the festival. The senpai-tachi should all come, okaa-san's been asking if you can come over to visit," said Yumi, pertaining to the regulars of course.

"Ayana-san's really kind to us," said Fuji.

"We should bring something when we come over," said Oishi.

"Okaa-san would love that," said Yumi.

"I'll have to tell okaa-sama ahead then," said Tezuka.

"Ah, arigatou, Tezuka-buchou!" said Kachiro.

"Yumi-chan offered to have the practice at your house but we weren't sure you'd say yes," said Katsuo.

Tezuka was just stopping by the council office to retrieve some papers when he caught sight of Tenshi from one of the staircases. She looked a bit bothered by something and she didn't seem to notice that she was about to miss two steps from the stairs. Tezuka was quick enough though, and caught her just in time. It would've been a very nasty fall if he hadn't caught her.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Hn," he replied and released her right away.

"Are you going anywhere?" asked Tenshi.

"I was just picking up some papers in the student council office. I'll be going then," said Tezuka.

"Matte, I have something to talk to you about," said Tenshi.

"Is it important?" asked Tezuka, seeing that Tenshi looked very serious at the moment.

"Quite. It's about your sister actually, and about what happened the other day," said Tenshi.

"All right, let's talk in the council room, no one's there at the moment," said Tezuka.

The two of them made their way to the office. Tezuka unlocked the door and opened it for Tenshi. The look on Tenshi's face was bothering him. He didn't want to think or to assume that she had anything to do with what happened to Yumi the other week. It wasn't a pleasant thought at all. Firstly, he didn't have the right to judge her or accuse her without ample evidence. And lastly, he doesn't even know anything about her; other than her name, age, and class number that is.

"I'd have to clarify this first; I'm not involved in any of the things that has been happening to Yumi," said Tenshi as they got in.

"All right, that answers one of my questions. If you're not connected, then what is it that you know?" asked Tezuka.

"As of the moment I'm still not sure. All I know is that there is more than one person doing these pranks," said Tenshi.

"Are you sure?" asked Tezuka.

"Haven't you heard Yumi-chan's classmate? A group passed the tennis courts and then that tennis racket with a blade planted on it suddenly came up," said Tenshi.

"I did hear that, but no one saw who dropped that racket," said Tezuka.

"I think I did see who it is. I'm not too sure as of yet that's why I need your help," said Tenshi.

"All right, since it concerns my sister's well being, I'll hear you out. What do you have in mind?" asked Tezuka.

Meanwhile, two busybodies were walking down the hall, heading back to their classroom when they saw Tezuka and Tenshi walk out of the council room together. They quickly hid themselves in a corner so that they wouldn't be seen. The two seniors were still talking intently to each other, in hushed voices as they continued to walk. Tezuka leaned a bit to hear what Tenshi was saying.

"Hey, isn't that Tezuka-buchou?" Tomoka asked as she saw the senior walk out of the student council room.

"Yeah, and that's the same girl who confessed to her," said Sakuno.

"Mizuno Tenshi's her name I think. What were they doing in the council room?" said Tomoka.

"They look like they're quite happy though," said Sakuno as she smiled at the sight of the two seniors walking away.

That afternoon, the whole tennis club was in a flurry of panic. A lot of the members arrived late due to class meetings regarding their class' participation in the festival. One could only imagine the relief on each of their faces when they all realized that the captain himself is still not present in the courts or in the clubrooms. It was only when Oishi finished changing into his tennis attire that the non-regulars dared to ask where their captain was.

"I'm not really sure where. Their class ended earlier than mine," said Oishi.

"That's odd," said Arai.

"Hoi hoi! Oishi! Oishi! I've got news!" Kikumaru announced as he and Fuji entered the clubroom.

"What is it Eiji?" asked Oishi as his overly enthusiastic doubles partner bounced up and down in front of him.

"Tezuka's got a girlfriend nya!" he announced.

"What?" all the non-regulars chorused.

"Wait, wait, wait, what did you say Eiji? Tezuka got a girlfriend?" asked Kawamura.

"When we were passing by the hallway after we got off our class we saw Tezuka waiting for Mizuno-chan. He went all gentlemanly and even took her heavy bag for her nya!" said Eiji.

"You guys should go see for yourself, they're actually heading here in a bit, I think," said Fuji as he hurriedly changed into his tennis uniform.

All the non-regulars and regulars alike huddled and looked out of the clubroom's window to take a peek. And just like what Fuji and Eiji said, Tezuka and Tenshi arrived somewhere near the courts after a few minutes. They were talking, though Tezuka, being passive as he always was, only responded in a few nods and a few short phrases, or words if you could call it that. But then he said something that made Tenshi laugh out loud.

"Waaaah! It's true! What Kikumaru-senpai said is true! They're already dating!" said Momo as he stood upright again.

"Che! Should we even bother about buchou's affairs?" asked Ryoma while he re-adjusted his cap.

"Actually we shouldn't," said Oishi.

"Fshuuu...It really is none of our business. Senpai shouldn't we head out now? Buchou might notice," said Kaidoh.

"Ah, you're right, Kaidoh. Although, there seems to be someone missing at the moment," said Fuji.

"Huh?" asked Momo.

"Has anyone seen Yumi-chan?" asked Fuji.

"Oh no! How will Yumi-chan accept this nya?" said Kikumaru.

"Don't be overly dramatic senpai," said Ryoma.

"Yeah, besides, last time we saw Yumi-chan she was talking to Mizuno-san like they were super close," Taka-san explained

All the members left the clubroom and headed out to do their warm-ups. After some time, they were joined by Tezuka while Tenshi was again snapping away with her camera. Only when they finished did Yumi finally show up at the courts. She had her clipboard and pen at hand like always, but there was something amiss. When Oishi tried to look at her, he noticed that there were some band-aids on her left kneecap.

"Tezuka I'll just go and talk to Yumi-chan about something," said Oishi before leaving the courts.

"Ah," Tezuka responded.

Oishi walked out the courts and went to talk to the younger student. She was re-checking a list of the items in the clipboard when Oishi appeared. And as if nothing ever happened, she flashed her usual smiled at her senpai before putting down the clipboard.

"Is there anything you need senpai?" asked Yumi.

"Yumi-chan, did you fall down earlier? Why do you have band-aids on your knee?" asked Oishi.

"Eh, you noticed?" asked Yumi, before looking down at her knees.

"Did you have it cleaned at the infirmary?" asked Oishi.

"Please don't tell nii-chan, senpai. I was picking up my pencil case then I suddenly scraped my knee. I only put band-aid on it," said Yumi.

"You can go and use the first aid kit in the clubroom. I'll tell your nii-chan that I asked you to check on some of the materials inside," said Oishi.

"Hai, doumo," said Yumi.

Oishi went back to the courts and continued with the warm ups. Afterwards, Tezuka assigned them in pairs for a practice match. They've been doing a lot of practice matches now since there would only be a few more weeks before it turns too cold for them to play. For the rest of the week, Tezuka has been making them practice against each other in a match.

"I'm not backing down on you now Ochibi!" said Kikumaru as he was facing Ryoma in a match.

Tezuka didn't allow any tie breaks this time so they had to best each other in a one set match. Winners of the matches will face each other until there's only one winner left. The day before, Tezuka took the place of the winner followed by Ryoma, Fuji and then Inui. Today they had different opponents, so the winners should vary again this time.

"Mada mada sune, Kikumaru-senpai, I'm taking this one seriously," said Ryoma as he aimed for the far end of the other side of the court.

"My acrobatic tennis skills are too good for that ochibi!" said Kikumaru before returning the ball easily.

The rest of the regulars are on the other courts, with non-regulars umpiring for each of their matches. It was a sight to see for the non-regulars since their best players are giving them a free preview of their awesome tennis skills. Tezuka, Fuji and Ryoma were the ones that most of the members are looking forward to watching. Unfortunately though, the non-regulars themselves are involved in a special training menu that Inui made for them; under Yumi's supervision of course.

"Good work today everyone! Congratulations for besting everyone again, Tezuka-buchou," said Oishi.

"Non-regulars are improving as well. Keep it up. All right, dismissed!" said Tezuka.

All the players started to pile out of the courts, leaving some of the freshmen who were assigned to do that day's clean up duties on the courts. The regulars however, were in a corner in front of the clubroom. They were still talking about the practice matches they had earlier. It was another successful practice for all of them, and they've noticed a lot of improvement lately.

"Great job today," said Tenshi as she walked towards them.

"Mizuno-chan. Did you get good shots?" asked Fuji.

"I got some very good ones, kaichou," said Tenshi.

"That's good. You should do your best for the upcoming festival. You have one of the best portfolios for our year you know," said Fuji.

"You flatter me, kaichou. But overall we can't deny that Tezuka Yumi-chan's portfolio has been improving tremendously. I guess what she lacks in sports, she makes up with art and intellectual ability," said Tenshi.

"No need to boost up Yumi-chan's confidence, Mizuno-chan, we all know she's going to agree with having you as her brother's girlfriend anyway, nya," Kikumaru grinned.

"What?" Yumi asked, mildly surprised at Kikumaru's statement.

"Ah, we saw Mizuno-chan and Tezuka-buchou earlier. They were looking lovey-dovey too," said Momoshiro.

"What are you all doing here?" Tezuka approached them; he had just finished talking to Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"We were just talking about you and Mizuno-chan," said Inui.

"What about us?" asked Tezuka.

"We were just wondering, Tezuka, have you accepted Mizuno-chan's confession?" Fuji asked frankly.

"I'm sorry, Tezuka. I know it's a private matter, but we saw you and Mizuno-chan arrive together earlier. And you were, uh, 'sweet' to each other; so to speak," said Oishi.

"So basically, you're all asking if the two of us are going out now," said Tenshi.

"Yes," the regulars chorused.

"Is it okay to tell them?" asked Tenshi.

"Yes, I suppose," said Tezuka.

"So, you are going out?" Yumi suddenly spoke up.

"Is that okay with you, Yumi-chan?" Tenshi asked.

From the regulars' point of view, Yumi looked absolutely calm and normal. But Tezuka knew better. He knows her better than anyone, Yumi has a big brother complex and she gets jealous whenever Tezuka gets closer to other girls. Their conversation before about Ryuuzaki Sakuno was an example, but he didn't think far ahead about how the young girl would react if ever he did get a girlfriend. She's not the type to throw tantrums; well, not in front of other people at least, but he hopes that Yumi accepts this sudden turnout of events maturely.

"Yumi," he called her name.

"I guess if onii-chan is happy, then I should just be happy for him," said Yumi.

"Well said, Yumi-chan," said Fuji, who seems to understand what Tezuka was thinking about.

"Arigatou, Yumi-chan. I promise I won't hurt your nii-chan," said Tenshi.

"Thank you, Yumi. Go and get changed, okaa-san said we have a visitor today and we have to get home soon," said Tezuka.

The ride home was relatively quiet. Apart from a few comments from Yumi, there wasn't much for them to talk about. Tezuka thought ahead and decided to just let her handle this one on her own. Even if she has a big brother complex, she has to understand that he's got a life other than taking care of a younger sister. There will always be room in his heart for his beloved sister after all.

When they got to their stop, the two got off the bus and walked home. When they got in, they noticed a familiar looking Midnight Blue colored vehicle parked in their driveway. Only one very close cousin of theirs owns a car like that. They all knew that he has a particular shade of blue that he prefers. Yumi's attitude sparked up and she excitedly walked towards the front door.

"Tadaima!" she said happily as she walked quickly to the receiving area of the house.

"Okaeri nasai, Yumi-chan," her mother smiled.

"Okaeri," Eriol smiled brightly at her.

"I knew it. I saw Eriol-niisan's shiny new car at the driveway," said Yumi.

"He's staying over with us until next week," said Ayana.

"Hontou?" Yumi asked excitedly.

"Tadaima desu," Tezuka entered the room.

"Ah, Kunimitsu, didn't you two arrive home together?" asked Ayana.

"I was left at the foyer by an overzealous siser," said Tezuka.

"Eriol-nii's staying over with until next week, nii-chan," said Yumi.

"Oh? Is it for a vacation?" Tezuka inquired.

"No, it's not that. I'm overseeing the construction of Tomoyo's new boutique across our family's restaurant at the town plaza. I figured I could just stay over here since Tomoyo's off to Paris for a fashion show anyway," said Eriol.

"He's offered to be your driver for the time being too, you know. He says it's to cover for his rental bills," Ayana joked.

"Demo, okaa-san, Seiiji-san will lose his job if Eriol-niisan drives for us," said Yumi.

"Otou-sama is taking Seiiji-san and Papa's new van to Okinawa since Seiiji-san is from there. They'll be gone for two weeks," Ayana explained.

"Is it all right?" asked Tezuka.

"_No problem_. Watching over the construction and the interior designing team is not tedious anyway," said Eriol.

"Yumi, go and finish your homework with Mayu-san. We'll have tea in the garden afterwards. We've got Jackson's Earl Grey for tea and some scones and crepes for snacks," said Ayana.

Yumi was glad that she decided to do half of her homework at school earlier. She already finished her Math and English homework (English done with Ryoma's help) during their free period. With that she only had a few more left since her work's already cut in half.

"You're improving well with your studies ojou-sama. You only need to improve more on English and Physical Education classes," said Mayu-san.

"Arigatou Mayu-san. May I go and have tea with the others now?" asked Yumi.

"Hai, you may go. I'll finish fixing your bag and leave it in your room later," said Mayu-san.

"Thank you," said Yumi before leaving the room.

Yumi left the study room and went to the garden. Tezuka was already there, obviously finished with all of his homework. He has always been able to finish all of his homework easily. Yumi noted that it's probably one of the reasons why her older brother was one of the top students in the school, along with Fuji who's an absolute genius.

"Done with homework?" asked Eriol as he poured tea for her.

"Hai, I was able to ask Ryoma-kun for help in my English homework earlier at school," said Yumi.

"Here you go," said Ayana as she set down a plate of crepes and scones.

"Arigatou, kaa-san," said Yumi.

"You seem a little different today, Yumi-chan. Is there anything wrong?" said Eriol.

"Eh? Really? I seem different?" asked Yumi.

"Well a little bit. I can't really point it out in particular but you do seem a little different from before," said Eriol.

"I'm not. It's nii-chan who's different today, well, especially today. Ne, niichan?" said Yumi.

"What is different with your onii-chan?" asked Ayana.

"Well, he's got himself a girlfriend already," Yumi said bluntly, before taking a sip on her tea.

"What?" Ayana stopped and asked.

"Did I just hear that right? My wooden block of a cousin has got himself a girlfriend? _Is that true?_" said Eriol.

"Do we know her?" asked Ayana.

"She's the girl that Yumi brought with her to the fashion show," said Tezuka.

"Oh, Mizuno-san, the other member of the Photography club, right? She's quite a darling," said Ayana.

"Have you met her?" asked Eriol.

"Only once, but she didn't stay for long since she and Yumi were heading out," said Ayana.

"You don't have to make much of a fuss about it, okaa-sama," said Tezuka.

"Well of course we should, my first born has got himself a girlfriend. Your father will react worse that I do, you know," said Ayana.

"Yes I do know that," said Tezuka.

"Maybe we should invite her over this weekend as well, onii-chan," said Yumi.

"This weekend?" asked Ayana.

"Ah, can we use the kitchen this weekend, okaa-sama? We're practicing how to make our assigned pastries for the school festival. The regulars are coming over to taste it and to visit as well," said Yumi.

"It's okay, I'm fine with them coming over," Ayana smiled.

"Yes but, Mizuno-san won't be able to come. She's flying to Singapore on Friday and she'll only be back on Sunday evening," said Tezuka.

"Well, there's still time though. We hope to meet her soon," said Eriol.

That evening, after dinner, Eriol turned in early and went to bed. He got the guest room across the hall from Yumi and Tezuka's room. The other two spent some time in the library. It was only eight in the evening and they usually spend some time in the library before going to bed. This time around though, Tezuka noticed that Yumi wasn't really paying attention to what she was reading. She almost looked a bit melancholic.

"Are you bored?" he asked.

"Not really," said Yumi, not looking up from what she's supposedly reading.

"Are you, not okay with me having a girlfriend?" he asked suddenly.

Silence. He thought so. Sometimes he blames himself for tolerating her behavior before. He's probably the sole reason why his sister has a big brother complex now. He's thankful that they are indeed very close to each other but at the same time worried that they are too close that she wouldn't even understand how he needs to interact with other more.

"Yumi," he called.

"It's not that I'm not okay with it. Of course I want you to be happy, especially now that you and senpai are together," said Yumi.

"But?" he asked.

"But I'm scared. I'm scared that things will change now," said Yumi.

"Why would things change?" he put down the German book he was reading and face his sister.

"Because, I'm not your real sister remember. We're not blood related. Now that you have a girlfriend you have to give priority to her more and I can't be a scrooge and ask for more attention from you because I'm not really your sister," she answered, her eyes turning a bit glassy as she sat back on her arm chair.

"Come here," said Tezuka as he beckoned her to come.

She stood up and went to her niichan. She was surprised when she was asked to sit on her brother's lap but she did so anyway. Tezuka wrapped her in an embrace from behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a bit before Tezuka finally spoke up.

"You know, when I was younger, I always wanted to have a younger sibling. Then okaa-sama got pregnant and I was excited to become a big brother. But when she gave birth to the baby, it was dead. The doctors said it was a still birth and that the baby girl inside her was already dead even before it came out. They didn't tell me that back then because I was still excitedly waiting for my baby sister to arrive. I didn't know that I had to wait for fourteen long years before I could meet you and take care of you," he explained.

Yumi looked at him. He just smiled a real smile before continuing with what he wanted to say. Yumi had to hear this so that she can understand. He has done a lot for her in only a few months and having an extra person in his life doesn't mean taking her out of the picture.

"Yumi, you're my younger sister and I will always be your big brother. Even if Mizuno-san is with me now, it doesn't mean that I'm forgetting about you. Have a little more faith in your brother, Yumi. You know how much I love you and nothing's ever going to change that," said Tezuka.

"Promise?" asked Yumi.

"Promise," he answered.


	20. Chapter 18

A/N: The much awaited update! Gomen ne minna! I've been experiencing ups and downs lately and I'm terribly sorry for that. I hope this chapter somehow makes up for my lack of activity. So then…Enjoy!

* * *

Weeks passed and Tezuka spent more time devicing plans to protect his sister with the help of his "girlfriend", Tenshi Mizuno. A lot of people believed their pretend relationship and instantly, the whole school and even neighboring schools in Seishuun became aware of the famous tennis captains new relationship. It was something not many of his fans expected. To some it was frustrating and heartbreaking but to those who admire him for his talent and not because of his physical looks, they showed appreciation. Who would've thought that the wooden block of a captain would land himself in a relationship with one of the most coveted ladies of Seigaku?

"Tezuka-kun, lunch time," said Tenshi as she stopped by III-A's classroom. A nod was the only reply that she got.

It's been two weeks since they started having lunch together. To put up with the pretense that they really are dating, Tezuka even turned down Yumi's offer to make his lunch numerous times. Of course he didn't actually want to disappoint his sister, but to keep up with the act, he has to play the part of a happy boyfriend.

"I know you want to spend time with your sister but can't you at least act like spending time with me is fun. People might think we're having a fight or something," said Tenshi.

"Ah, I was just thinking about Yumi. She looked really disappointed lately. I haven't given her enough time as of late," said Tezuka.

"And you feel guilty?" Tenshi asked.

"Yes, I do," he answered bluntly.

"You are doing this for her right? This is for her safety. If the plan works, we'll catch your sister's tormenter by the time the festival starts," said Tenshi.

"I still don't understand why you're doing this. You won't gain any profit from any of this," said Tezuka.

"Well, in the end, I can at least say that I experienced a happy ending with you somehow. Don't worry though; I'm not pressuring you or anything. I just really want to help Yumi-chan," Tenshi explained.

"This plan of yours is doing more bad than good for her though," said Tezuka.

"How?" Tenshi asked.

"She feels like she's being left out in everything. If she wasn't so busy with that photography contest, I'm sure she'd be having fits right now," said Tezuka.

"What is she? A little baby? Why would a thirteen year old girl throw tantrums just for that?" Tenshi asked.

"Well, simply because she's asking for attention," said Tezuka annoyingly.

On the other hand, Yumi and Ryoma, along with the Ichinen Trio were just passing by the couple's table when they heard the conversation. Since they came in late, they only heard the last few bits of the conversation. It surprised all five of them to hear the two talking that way. Before any of them could react, Yumi excused herself and fled.

"Oh dear," said Katsuo.

"I'll go after her. We'll see you in class," said Ryoma.

"Ah, take this for the two of you," said Kachiro as he handed two melon breads.

"Thanks," said Ryoma.

Ryoma followed Yumi and found her inside one of the empty music rooms. She was looking out an opened window facing the tennis courts. He cautiously approached his friend.

"Yumi-chan," he called.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she said calmly.

"Cut the crap. You know I won't believe you right?" Ryoma smiled.

"I just feel really sad. I haven't seen much of my brother for the past weeks. And I've been busy trying to find a good photo for the contest. And now this happens. Its piling up," Yumi explained.

"I can't blame you. It really is tough," said Ryoma.

"I guess I miss my nii-chan a lot too," said Yumi.

"I know what you feel. I can't say that I understand it but I guess, for now, you just have to grin and bear it. We all know that eventually you and your brother will part but that's not a forever thing," said Ryoma.

"Big words from someone who doesn't talk much," said Yumi.

"You know I only talk this much with you," said Ryoma.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks a lot. I'm glad you're here," said Yumi.

"Cheesy. Come on, Kachiro-kun gave this," said Ryoma as he handed the melon bread.

* * *

That afternoon, the freshmen arrived at the courts early. There were still very few people there and most were non-regulars. Deciding that warming up while the regulars weren't there yet, Yumi joined Ryoma in doing slow-paced laps. Ryoma's been trying to help her build some stamina and to get stronger but it seemed like every single day that passes the opposite happens. They paid no mind to it, dismissing it as Yumi's simple lack of bodily-kinesthetic strength. Ryoma being a true friend promised that he'd just help her start from the very basics instead.

"Hoi! Hoi! Yumi-chan! Ochibi!" Kikumaru called the two.

A few of the regulars finally arrived and were now starting their laps. They caught up with the freshmen as soon as they can and joined in their slow-paced run. They don't get to spend a leisurely time like this too often.

"How was your day?" Fuji asked.

"Good," the two answered in unison.

"And how is the photo coming, Yumi-chan?" Taka-san asked.

"Not so good but Ryoma-kun promised to show me some other places so I can take pictures," said Yumi.

"Yumi-chan seems different today nya. You look a bit tired," said Kikumaru.

"No, I'm fine senpai," said Yumi.

"Must be because of the work we had to do for class," said Ryoma.

"I can't blame you. Our class is planning on doing a horror house and everyone's on edge preparing for it," said Kawamura.

"Minna! Practice will start in a few minutes!" They all heard Oishi call out.

Practice went on like usual. Tezuka gave out instructions, Yumi supervised some training, and Tenshi was around the corner taking photos of the players. Everyone probably noticed it already, the way Yumi seemed like she was avoiding Tezuka and Tenshi. She focused on what she was doing instead.

After a few hours, Tezuka called the practice to an end. They gathered in the main court to have a few minutes to discuss the upcoming festival. The assigned leaders gave their updates and finally, they were dismissed.

"Yumi-chan, time to go home," said Tenshi.

Tezuka usually walked Tenshi home so Yumi usually had to go along with them too. Today though, Yumi wasn't in the mood to go with them. She wanted to spend the least bit of time with the couple than with the others.

"Ah, I won't be walking home with you and nii-chan" said Yumi.

"Eh? Does Tezuka know?" asked Oishi.

"I forgot to tell him but I-I'll be-ah," she stuttered.

"I'll be walking home with her. We were going to stop by a soft-served ice cream shop before we go home," said Ryoma.

"Ok. Be sure to tell Tezuka before you go," said Taka-san.

"Hai," said Yumi, then mouthing a 'thank you' to Ryoma for helping her out.

"Be sure to tell me what?" Tezuka popped out from the locker room.

"Ah, Yumi-chan's walking home with Echizen-kun instead of with us," said Tenshi.

"Why? Are you feeling ill?" Tezuka asked, his hand automatically checking his sister's forehead.

"Iie, I just want to eat some soft-served ice cream and Ryoma said he saw one. He's going to walk me home afterwards," said Yumi.

"Will you be okay on your own? You can call Eriol if you want," said Tezuka.

"Iie, daijobu. Ryoma-kun's taking me home anyway," said Yumi.

"It'll be fine. I doubt that Echizen-kun will let her get into any trouble." Tenshi assured Tezuka.

"I guess," said Tezuka, albeit uneasily.

"We'll be going ahead then, Yumi-chan," said Tenshi.

"Call me when you get home or if anything happens," said Tezuka.

"I will," said Yumi.

* * *

The two first years walked around the mini-plaza to look for the ice cream parlor. Despite it being an on the spot excuse to not walk with the new couple, they decided to just go ahead and have some sweets. They deserved a bit of luxury today anyway.

The soft-served ice cream store was quaint and cute. Not the icky-girly kind of cute that Ryoma would not enter but it was simple and friendly looking. This was something they both needed, sweets.

"Thanks for backing me up today. I really didn't want to spend time with them at the moment," said Yumi.

"I figured as much," said Ryoma.

"It feels odd though. I care a lot about my brother but hearing him say those words, I suddenly feel confused," Yumi explained.

"Don't over think it. We didn't even hear the whole conversation. They might have been talking about someone else," said Ryoma.

"Maybe you're right," said Yumi.

"Anyway, the sensei called you and some of the girls out earlier, what did they want?" Ryoma asked.

"They're planning making a presentation on the festival day for intermission numbers. They were thinking on doing a Shoujo Jidai group, Seigaku style of course," Yumi explained.

"Oh, so you'll be joining?" He asked.

"Yeah but there's going to be an audition for the lead part; Ryuuzaki-san suddenly stepped in and wanted my place so we're doing an audition tomorrow," said Yumi.

"Ganbatte ne," said Ryoma.

"Hai, ganbarimasu," Yumi smiled.

After having ice cream, the two went to the nearby used-books shop. Yumi was fond of visiting these kinds of shops even when she was a lot younger. It would remind her a lot about the time she had in her life before the Tezuka family brought her in. Right now she was thankful that every single thing she needed was given to her even if she didn't ask for it.

They were browsing the books at the outside shelf when two drunkards passed by. They looked like they drank a lot more than they could take and by the looks of it, they were eyeing on every girl they see that passes by. Yumi and Ryoma was, unfortunately, on their line of sight.

"Hey cutie, want to go and have a good time," one of the drunks said as he pulled on Yumi's left arm.

"Let go! You stink!" Yumi yelled.

"I like'em feisty! Lemme have her!" Said the other one as he then pulled on her right arm.

Ryoma pushed them away and blocked them as they were trying to get back on Yumi again. By then, most of the people in the shopping block were already looking. None of them had the guts to step in and help the two junior high students though.

"Oi shorty, you better get out of my way," said the first drunk.

"Your breath stinks. Leave us alone. She's not coming with any of you." Ryoma stated.

"For someone so puny, you got a lot of nerve shorty," said the second drunkard.

"Let's get'em!" The first one shouted.

"Oi!" A familiar voice shouted.

When they looked to where it came from, the great Atobe Keigo, along with his tennis team, were there. Seeing how outnumbered the two drunkards were, they made a split decision to run away. It was absolutely hilarious since they were bumping or crashing at every single thing they passed.

"Are you okay?" Atobe asked.

"Thank you," said Yumi.

"Good timing Monkey King," said Ryoma.

"Shut it brat. You couldn't even fight them off," said Atobe.

"Well excuse me for being so little," Ryoma muttered.

"Anyway, thank you for helping us Atobe-san," said Yumi as she dipped her head for a bow.

"Don't be silly. I'm almost a relative of yours, a couple of times removed. Nonetheless, I'd do it anyway even if we weren't related," said Atobe.

"Where's your brother anyway? Doesn't he usually walk home with you?" Asked Oshitari.

"He's walking his girlfriend home," said Yumi.

"So what we heard was true," said Oshitari.

"I didn't think he'd be able to ask anyone out," said Jirou before he yawned.

"Forget asking, I actually though he was mute. Y'know your brother doesn't talk much," said Gakuto.

"Anyway, where are you two heading?" asked Atobe.

"We were just heading home," said Yumi.

"Those two scumbags came in just after we decided to call it a day," said Ryoma.

"We were just heading home ourselves. I'll drop you two on my way home," said Atobe.

"There's no need to," said Yumi.

"No, I insist," said Atobe.

"I think it will be safer as well if buchou sends the two of you home. We were thinking of going home now as well anyway," said Oshitari.

"I'll see you guys at school then," said Atobe.

"Ah," said Jirou before he gave a heartful yawn.

Ryoma was reluctantly dropped off in front of their house. He wanted to make sure Yumi was okay. Despite being their savior earlier, he can't deny that Atobe is still a Monkey King. Even so, he gave in after he was coaxed by Yumi. She said she was fine so he just watched as the black limo sped off.

"It must be unusual for you to not spend a lot of time with your brother. If I'm not mistaken this is the first time it happened," said Atobe.

"It is actually," said Yumi.

"Well, you have to get used to it eventually. We're already in that age that we want a girlfriend. After a few years he's probably going to get married too," said Atobe.

"Hn," Yumi muttered. She wasn't prepared for talks like this just yet. It's much too early for her to be talking about this.

"But you know, that doesn't mean he'll love you any less," Atobe smiled.

She looked at him, seeing a kind smile, rather than his usual arrogant looking expression. It suddenly felt like he's trying to make her feel a little bit better. She was thankful, though he has no idea about what happened today, he made her remember Tezuka's promise to her.

"Thanks Atobe-san," said Yumi.

"What for?" He asked.

"You're different from my big brother but somehow, after what you said, you reminded me a bit of him." She explained..

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult at the moment. Not as a person but as a brother. He should be here to accompany you," said Atobe.

"Yes, but he's got a girlfriend that he's accompanying as well," said Yumi.

"I get that but you know, that doesn't excuse him for letting you go home on your own. Echizen's a guy but at the moment you two are just two very tiny first years. Being in junior high doesn't permit you to go out on your own you know, especially with your family status," Atobe explained.

"What does my family status have to do with that?" Yumi asked.

"Well, you're an heiress to one of Japan's richest families, even if you haven't been formally introduced to the public, there's bound to be someone out there who knows about you and has bad intentions about your family's wealth," said Atobe.

"Sounds like a plot for a good story," Yumi smiled.

"Glad you find it amusing," said Atobe.

"You're not like the Atobe I heard in stories of tennis players," said Yumi.

"I hope it's in a good way," said Atobe.

"Yeah, somehow. All I've heard about you is that you're quite the boastful type," said Yumi.

"What's not to boast? Nah, I'm kidding. I have to look the part to make other players intimidated by me, otherwise I'll just be like any other player in the court," said Atobe.

"Bocchan we're here," said the driver as they pulled to a stop.

"Ah, thanks Pier," said Atobe as he opened the door for Yumi.

"Thanks Atobe-san," said Yumi.

"Call me Keigo-nii. Atobe-san is my dad," said Atobe.

"Sou ka. All right, Keigo-nii, thank you for the ride. The Seishuun festival's coming soon. If you want to come and bring the other tall nii-san-tachi and visit the tennis club booth I can make arrangements," said Yumi.

"I'll be sure to drop by then. See you," said Atobe before he got in.

The following day was the audition day for the group that the females of the student council planned. Apparently the girls and guys from the council split up on getting performers. It would be like a contest and the groups that they formed would be the ones performing against each other.

"Konnichiwa," said Yumi as she entered one of music halls.

"Konnichiwa, Tezuka-chan. You can take a seat with the others. We're still waiting for some people before we go through with the audition," said the secretary.

"Ah, but senpai, do I really have to join?" Yumi asked.

"Of course. I saw one of your home videos from kaichou's laptop. The one he filmed for your dad," said the secretary.

"Waaah! Niichan showed you?! That was supposed to be for papa. He promised to buy me something if I filmed that," said Yumi.

"Daijoubu. It was very cute and I think TaeYeon's part suits you best," said the smiling secretary.

"We've got a problem!" The council's assistant treasurer suddenly entered the hall.

By the time the treasurer finished, Tezuka was already entering the music hall with some of the other members of the student council. Apparently, Sakuno and Tomoka had created uproar in a social networking site that was widely used by the student body. Now that everybody knows about the audition, they want a staged performance that will be judged by the students. With all of the other people agreeing with what the two wanted, the student council has no choice but to hold it in the auditorium.

"But this is different, everyone from the school has a say as to who the TaeYeon will be for this school. Of course they'll vote for her, they all know her well," Yumi explained to the secretary.

"Not necessarily, Yumi-chan. As the tennis club buchou's younger sister, you've gained quite a reputation here already," the secretary explained.

"And according to most of the people I've met, they're quite excited about this show. They want to see how someone from the Tezuka family would perform," said the vice president.

"Of course, the Tezuka family's quite famous for being very talented. Tezuka-kaichou's not only an amazing tennis player, he's a pianist, cellist and a top student to boot," said the treasurer.

"That's not the issue here. If we are allowing this showdown to go on then we'll have to give the performers about a week more to prepare," said Tezuka.

"So, you're allowing Yumi-chan to perform?" Asked the vice president.

"That's up to her. If she wants to then I'll support her," said Tezuka.

"Actually, she has to. She's the reason we're having the showdown in the first place. Ryuuzaki's very persistent in saying that she can top Yumi-chan in this showdown," said the assistant treasurer.

"Well then, that means you have to prepare well Yumi-chan. There's no way you can lose against her," said the secretary.

"I don't know. I do want to join the group but I don't know if fighting for the position is worth it. I mean, what if she is better?" Yumi shrugged.

"We don't know that yet. And we'll only know it if you compete. So what do you say?" Said the secretary.

"Come on Yumi-chan. We know you can do it," said the treasurer.

"Yeah, we'll try to support you as much as we can. I have a brother in the dance troupe, he can help with the choreography and other stuff," said the secretary.

With no other hesitations, Yumi agreed. There are lots of people supporting her. No doubt, the members of the tennis club will be there to support her as well. It will be hard, since there's not much time to prepare, but she'll just have to try her best to make everything work out in her favor.

* * *

Saa... R&R minna!


End file.
